Falling For You (Rewritten)
by RavenR22
Summary: Rewritten story - Jumping from foster home to foster home, Chloe was used to never being wanted and when she ran, a stranger with pale skin saved her and helped go find a path to a new life.
1. Prologue

This rewritten story will NOT be a spin off from Volturi Secret Angle like the other one was, but will have a similar story-line

**Prologue: **

Trees shook as the wind picked up outside, the thunderstorm slowly moving across the sky. A long streak of lighting flashed through the sky followed by a loud crack of thunder. The heavy ran had turned to a drizzle as it continued to slowly tap against the windows of a quiet house where four police officers stood in the living room.

A small child was curled up on a couch wrapped in a blanket, yet still trembling as tears ran down her cheeks. A female cop quietly sat next to her as she attempted to comfort the crying five-year-old. The sound of the front door opening gained the attention of all present in the room and a heartbroken looking man entered the room. He showed the police his ID as his crying niece ran over to him for comfort. He hugged her close and tried to comfort her, but that would only last so long. Within the next few months, grief and alcohol will send him to jail and the last of his family would be sent away at six years old to endure years of pain and hell in the foster system.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_~Seven years later~_

**(Chloe's POV) **

I sat on the uncomfortable bed as I clung to the blanket that was wrapped around me. My whole body was shivering in fear. He had tried again, and yet again his wife was here to stop his drunken self. He had left me alone in my locked room, but not before painfully pushing me to the floor and hurting my now bruised arm. My hands shook and I could hear their bedroom door close for the night and soon the sound of snoring would echo down these halls of hell.

How many more homes did I have to be sent to? How much more will I suffer? I'm only thirteen, so the answer could be many more home with far more suffering. My eyes glazed over, but I refused to cry anymore. I looked out the window at the half moon that lightly light up the deserted streets while biting my lip. I quietly moved off my bed and pulled out my old beat up backpack that has been to every home with me. It contained what little I owned in it. A picture of me and my parents, a small teddy bear, and some cash I've managed to swipe from previous foster families. I counted the cash a couple times and determined I had enough for a bus ticket and maybe some food. My body stiffened as I heard a bathroom door open and close. There was a tense silence before I heard the 'mother' return to the bedroom and I let out a breath of relief.

I refuse to live like this any longer.

So, I quietly packed a light pair of PJs, a pair of sweatpants, some underwear, and a couple shirts in my small bag. I placed my precious childhood teddy bear and the picture of my parents in my bag before quietly zipping it up and putting on my old torn up sneakers. Pulling on an old rain jacket, I threw the backpack on and crawled over my bed to the window. I pressed my lips together as I slowly pulled the window up, being careful not to make a noise. A part of me thanked God that my small room was on the first floor and all I had to do was climb out the window and jump a little to get out. Once my feet hit the ground, I quickly looked up to the first floor of the house to make sure those people didn't hear me, before turning on my heel and running down the street as fast as I could. I ducked in shadows and hid behind trees, fences, and other objects to keep from being seen. Finally, after miles of walking I spotted a bus station.

Gathering up my courage I ran to the ticketing booth and purchased a one way to Athens, Greece. The ticket cost more than I though and with a dejected sigh, I knew the little money I had left wouldn't be getting me food anytime soon. Pushing that thought aside, I boarded the bus and ignored the strange look the driver gave me. Taking a seat in the very back by the window, I pulled my legs up onto the seat and clutched my backpack to my chest, quietly preying for the bus to move. For how late it was, I was surprised that the buss was going to be full, but I ignored the other passengers as I kept my head down and continued to clutch my bag closer, hoping no one will do anything about me. I could faintly tell someone had sat next to me but didn't bother to look at them. The less people who see my face, the more likely it will be that I can get away.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, the bus slowly pulled out of the station and I let my body physically relax after an hour when I saw a sight that announced we were officially out of the city limits.

"Running?" A voice quietly asked next to me and I quickly snapped my head to the person sitting next to me. My eyes widened a little at the blue-eyed and extremely pale man next to me, who was wearing a very expensive looking outfit with a gold necklace resting over his chest and V shaped pendent attached to the chain. My heart raced at the fear of being caught and my mind swerved with thoughts on what to so.

"N-No," I finally stuttered out and watched as his lips formed a knowing smirk as he raised a perfect eyebrow.

"Oh?" he murmured, "then why so tense?" I stiffened even more and physically flinched when my bruised arm brushed the side of the bus as I moved away from him a little. His head tilted a little and I thought I saw his eyes flash to my hurt arm for a second and they held slight curiosity. As if he could see the hand shaped bruise on my upper arm and my swollen wrist that was hidden under the long sleeve. No, there's no way he could see any of that…

"I just don't like busses," I finally said hoping that would make him leave me alone. He shifted in his seat a little and crossed one leg over the other as he rested his hands in his lap while entwining his fingers, the whole movement was so graceful and so well practiced I almost wondered if he was real.

"Now why don't I believe you?" he said quietly, almost like he was intentionally making sure other passengers couldn't hear us, or at least the ones that were still awake.

"You don't have to," I muttered and quickly looked out the window, hoping this will finally shut him up. In the reflection of the window I could see a small smirk twitch at his lips; but as he opened his mouth, his phone rang, and he quickly answered it. He spoke in a hushed tone and in some other language. Not having his attention on my anymore made me relax and I quietly unzipped my bag a little and pulled out the slightly wrinkled photo of me and my parents. I stared at the photo, once again willing away tears while I slightly promised them, I wouldn't give up and I would make a new life for myself, no matter what it took. When I felt that man's eyes on me again, I quickly put away the photo and clutched the bag close to my chest before turning my back to him and cuddling up in the seat. I slowly fell asleep to the sound of his hushed phone conversation and the wind blowing around the moving bus.

**Author's Note:**

**Once again! This will no longer be a spin off from VSA, but i do plan to keep a similar story line. **

**Hope you will all like the new story though, I think I'm going to be much happier with it this time around. I will try to update as much as I can :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I slowly woke up, my body aching from the uncomfortable sleeping position. My eyes opening to meet the still night sky. Looking at the clock on the bus I noticed I was asleep for six of the eight-hour bus ride. My stomach gave a growl and I pressed my bag into it, trying to keep it quiet. I knew I didn't have enough money left to buy a snack they provided on the bus; but once I got to Athens, I bet I could scavenge something…

I jumped when a bag of pretzels was being held in front of my face by a pale hand. I looked over to see that annoying man sitting there with a small smirk. I narrowed my eyes at him before eyeing the bag in suspicion.

"Well take them," he said, and I looked back at him, the suspicion still clear on my face.

"Why?" I asked and he raised an eyebrow before tossing the bag towards me and I just barley caught it.

"I believe a 'thank you' is what you should be saying," he scolded a little, "but if you're not as hungry as that growling stomach suggests, then I can give them to someone else." I blushed in embarrassment and quickly looked away from him.

"Thank you." I muttered before opening the bag. I didn't eat the food right away though because I was still suspicion of his motives. So, I sniffed the bag a little and inspected the contents inside.

"Not a very trusting girl, are you?" I heard him ask and looked over to see him watching me with curiosity and slight amusement.

"Habit." I spat out bitterly before looking away again; however, I could see his lips form a small frown in the window reflection.

"For an eleven-year-old-" he stared to say, and I cut him off.

"Thirteen." I snapped a little and he raised an eyebrow again.

"Apologies," he said, "for a thirteen-year-old, you have quite the attitude." I didn't answer him. Instead I slowly munched on the pretzels and kept my eyes on the moving road.

"Now I wonder what the bus driver would do if he found out there was a runaway on board." The man suddenly said and my face paled.

"I'm not a runaway." I quickly said in a hushed tone.

"Then what are you?" he challenged as I continued to look away from him.

_'Ok don't panic' _I thought to myself, _'just make up a story…" _

"I'm visiting my uncle in Athens," I lied. Although it was also the half-truth, he was in Athens; but he was wasting away in jail.

"And do your parents know about this trip?" he asked.

"I don't have any!" I snapped at him then realized what I said. I quickly looked away and pulled my rain jacket hood over my head, blocking him out. How I wished I had headphones like some of the other bus passangers. Maybe I should've stolen them from my last home before I left…

I heard him shift a little in his seat, but he made not further attempt to talk to me after that. Although I did feel his eye on me occasionally, I ignored him and continued to stare out the bus window. After what seemed like an eternity, the bus finally pulled into the Athens station. People were quick to get off and the annoying man next to me was among the first. Once he was off the bus, I hopped behind a lady and followed her off the bus while keeping my head down with my hood on the whole time. I dodged through the small crowd to avoid the eyes of security guards, before coming to a stop in a slightly hidden corner. I had managed to swipe a map of Athens from a tourist's bag and opened it. I looked over the map trying to figure out where to go. My first thought was to the street market and I could try and steal some food, but I quickly shook that idea away. I didn't want to steal because that could get me caught a lot quicker. My shoulders slumped after a few minutes of looking over the map. Maybe this wasn't the best idea…

"For such a little kid," a voice came from behind me and I jumped, "you sure are stealthy and quick." I looked behind me to see my oh so talkative bus mate. I suppressed a groan and decided to just walk away from him.

"There are cops that way." The man said and I froze in my spot. I quickly spun on my heel to face the blue-eyed annoyance.

"Why won't you leave me alone?!" I snapped at him and he raised that stupid, perfect eyebrow. He smirked a little then pulled out a think envelope from under his jacket and tossed it at me. I quickly caught it and looked up at him, only to find he was gone. I looked around me but couldn't see him anymore. Pulling my eyebrows together, I opened the envelope and my jaw hit the ground. There was a lot of cash in it and with a note and what looked like a hotel key card. The hotel card read Royal Olympic Hotel. I unfolded the note that was also tucked between the ridiculous amount of money.

_Royal Olympic hotel suite key card. Stay ends 6 months from today under the name Athas. Do what you want with the cash. I personally recommended changing your appearance if you don't want to get caught. Good luck kid ~ D_

I stared wide-eyed at the note and kept reading over it. Biting my lip, I looked around at the forming crowds that have started to appear with the morning sun. I kept debating what I should do. I shouldn't trust a stranger, for all I knew he could be at the room now waiting for me. I shivered as a cool breeze blew around me. Taking a deep sigh, I decided to push all common sense aside and hail a cab. The taxi driver dropped me off at the expensive looking hotel and I walked through the doors biting my lip.

"You must be Mr. Athas's daughter." I jumped when a well-dressed woman walked up to me with a smile plastered on her face.

"We look forward to your long stay with us, I'm Karan the hotel general manager." She eyed me up and down but kept that fake smile on her face. 

"Your suite is on the top floor," she handed me an envelope with a room number, "In there is a card with a three-month food plan. Feel free to contact the front desk if you need anything." With that she gave me one last fake smile and walked off. I briefly wondered how much they pay her to be such a suck up. Rolling my eyes, I quickly made my way to the elevator. The elevator dinged on the top floor and I made my way to the room number. Taking one last deep breath, I swiped the card and walked in.

For the second time today, my jaw hit the ground. The entryway was huge, and I walked through to a lounge area with a long couch and two chairs with a coffee table in the middle of them. There was a decent size desk in the same room along with a small round dining table and a couple chairs. In the other room was a large bedroom with a huge bed. I walked in there and tossed my bag on the bed and went to the bathroom. Just like everything else, the room was huge and the bathtub that could probably fit three. A large counter and a shower also fit in the room. Shaking my head, I walked out and looked around the room to see a door that led to a balcony. I stepped out and went over to the railing looking out at the city and the view of the temple of Zeus. Pressing my lips together, I walked back into the room and closed the door behind me. I looked at the clock to see it was almost nine in the morning. Shops will be opening soon, and I knew I should probably go get some things…

After locking the front door, I jumped into the shower and enjoyed the nice hot water. It's been years since I've taken a hot shower, foster parents don't want to waste money on hot showers for me. After scrubbing my har and completely washing off, I got out and wrapped myself in the fluffy towels. I looked at myself in the mirror as I dried off my brown hair deciding then that the first thing I needed to do was dye my hair so it would be harder for people to recognize me in case those people reported me missing. Which I doubt they would, but it never hurts to be safe. Besides, I didn't really care for my brown hair because it reminded me of my mom.

After I dried off and dressed into my only pair of clean cloths, I left the room with my bag and the wad of cash in it. I quietly walked into the breakfast area where they were serving it buffet style or by menu. I walked over to the buffet after showing my room card to the host, my stomach growled at seeing all the food. Not caring about the people around me, I piled eggs, waffles, and bacon on my plate then walked over to a secluded table by a window. After scarfing down my breakfast and even going back for seconds, I grabbed an apple from the buffet and walked out of the hotel. The front desk lady called me a cab to take me to the closest shopping mall, which was an outdoor strip near the temple of Zeus, which was getting crowded with tourists. My first destination was a hair salon.

"Good morning," the lady at the front desk said with a suspicious smile, "can I help you."

"I was wondering if you have availability to get a full coloring done," I said, "I'd like to go blonde." The lady pressed her lips together as she eyed me. I don't blame her suspicion, after all, I bet it's not often a thirteen-year-old walks in alone.

"One of our stylist had a cancellation this morning and will have the time," she started to say and I pulled out the envelope of cash.

"How much?" I asked and she smiled after seeing I had the money for the service. She told me I can pay after the appointment and led me back to a lady. I was thankful the hairstylist wasn't a talkative person and let me read through magazines as she worked on my mid-back length hair. It took four hours to completely dye my hair blonde. After thanking the hairstylist, I quickly left and went to the closest clothing store. I picked out several outfits, shoes, makeup to help change my appearance, and a purse. After buying all the things I continued to shop at a few more stores and a grocery store to get some basic living things. When my hands were full of bags, I flagged a cab and returned to the hotel. A bus boy took my things up to my room while I went to get dinner at the roof top restaurant.

Finally, after a long day, I plopped down on the bed in my room after locking the door and putting my things away. I stared at the wall for a while, trying to figure out why that guy helped me. Even after all the shopping I did today, I barley made a dent in the cash he gave me and I looked up on the business center computers how much this room costs. For six months, he had to have paid easily over one-hundred thousand. I rolled onto my stomach and stared out the window at the city. I bed he's just overly wealthy person who just likes to throw money around to poor people to make himself feel better. I huffed a little as I got off the bed and headed for the bathtub. Well whatever the reason for him helping me, I now have a chance to start a new life.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

I sat in the hotel business center the next morning scrolling through the list of open jobs. A bookstore at the mall I shopped at yesterday caught my eye because they hired young teenagers like me. Printing out the address of the store, I walked out of the room and to the breakfast area. I knew that I needed to find a job and start saving up money for when my stay here ends. My plan was to save up enough money to where I could move from cheap hotel to cheap hotel until I was old enough to buy an apartment, which was a long way away since I'm only thirteen; but, it's the only plan I have right now.

Lucky for me, the bookstore owner bought my sob story about my single mother losing her job and us needing more money, so I dropped out of school to help us survive. He said I could start tomorrow, and I was ecstatic about it. I went shopping after that at another mall and got a few more cloths and more makeup, before returning to the hotel and spending the rest of the day in the library and the business center studying to stay a little on top of my education. Not like I got much education to begin with, but luckily, I liked to read and study, so I considered myself educated enough.

The next morning, I woke up early and prepared for the first day of work. I wore jeans and a simple black shirt then pulled my hair up into a ponytail before doing my makeup and leaving the hotel after breakfast. I arrived at the bookstore an hour before it opened, and the owner let me in with a smile.

"Good morning Chloe," he said nicely, and I followed him to the back employee room where a few more people were.

"Alright everyone," the owner announced, "this is our new staff member, Chloe." Everyone nodded or said hi to me before slowly leaving to attend to their job duties.

"Nick," the owner said and a boy who looked to be around fifteen walked over with a coffee in hand, "can you train her on stocking and merchandising?"

"Sure thing boss." Nick said with a dimpled smile as he brushed his slightly long black hair away from his brown eyes. The boss left to his office then and Nick placed his empty coffee cup in the dishwasher.

"Alright Chloe," he said walking out, "lets get started." He stopped in the middle of the hall and turned to look at me.

"By the way," he said with a curious look, "how old are you?"

"Thirteen." I muttered and he thought for a moment then nodded before continuing to walk towards the front of the store, "that's how old I was when I started working here." He said and I glanced at him. "My mom up and left dad and I, so I took up a job to help pay for rent."

"Oh." Was all I could say as we stopped in front of the first shelf and Nick handed me a clipboard with a think stack of paper on it.

"Ok," he said pulling out his own clipboard, "our systems here are ancient, so we have to go though our store once a week to see what we need to restock on…" I listened to him explain our job for today and follow him around the store as we worked. He liked to talk and I think I eventually tuned out his never ending storytelling. When lunch time came, Nick took me to the café next door saying it's the best place to go if you don't bring a lunch. He was right, the staff was very nice and the food was very good to. I looked up Nick as he asked me never ending questions at lunch.

What was my favorite book? Movie? Color? Country? Flower? It went on for the whole lunch break, but I found that after a while. I enjoyed his company. Perhaps it's because I haven't had many friends or people to talk to. I think I liked Nick though because he seemed like a genuine guy. He spoke his mind and from what I observed on our first day together, he seemed to be a laid-back go with the flow kind of guy. The day ended with Nick and I going our separate ways and I found as I took a cab back to the hotel, that I was happy. That was a feeling I haven't felt in a long time….

_~3 months later~_

I laughed with Nick in the back room of bookstore as we looked over comics during our lunch break. Nick quickly became a good friend and we've done a lot together. I haven't told him about where I'm living right now and why I'm really in Athens. He may be a good friend, but I still don't trust people. Although, I've been greatly relieved that my last foster family hasn't reported me missing so I've been able to relax a little.

"Ok this reminds me of the monkey we saw at the zoo." Nick laughed and pointed to a photo in a magazine, and we both giggle like little kids. When our shift was done, we walked back out and resumed stocking the shelves. I looked up while working to see a couple enter the store. My eye widened a little at their appearance. They both looked like the man from the bus all those months ago. They were unbelievably pale and there was something very graceful in the way they walked. They also looked like they could be supermodels or something. The woman had beautiful wavy blonde hair that kind of looked like my dyed hair. She wore an expensive looking dress and jewelry. The man had short, neatly combed black hair and he was wearing an expensive looking black suit with a navy-blue shirt. Nick noticed my stared and tapped my shoulder, making me look at him.

"They're regulars," he said, "although they must have been out of town for a while because they haven't come in since you started working."

"Who are they?" I asked, trying to keep my voice low.

"Athena and her husband Damien." He said, "Athena come in here more often, but every now and then her husband is here. They're really nice though." He said then returned to his work. I took another glance at the unusual couple then returned to my work as well.

"Excuse me Nick," I heard an Angelic voice from next to me and looked over to see Athena standing a few feet away.

"Ya?" Nick answered, putting down his books.

"I'm looking for a new book that was just released," she said, "but it's not on the shelves. Do you have it in the back by chance?"

"I'll go check." Nick said after she gave him the title and he walked away. I tired to focus on my work but the woman decided to speak to me.

"You're new here." She stated and I looked back at her.

"Um, yes," I replied quietly, "I just started three months ago." She smiled a perfect, white teeth smile.

"Ah," she said, "my husband and I have been on vacation for a few months." Ok I don't know why that's important information to me, but whatever.

"What's your name?" she asked, and I held back a sigh. Are all unbelievably pale people so talkative and prying?

"Chloe." I replied nicely and returned to focusing on my work. Thank heavens Nick chose to return then with the woman's book. He gave it to her, and she said 'goodbye' with a soft smile. I watched her and her husband walk out of the store before putting my last book on the shelf.

"Want to go to dinner?" Nick asked after closing and I smiled.

"Tacos!" we both said at the same time and laughed while walking out of the store and earning an amused eyeroll from the owner. Nick and I chowed down on some tacos at our favorite taco place and giggled as we made fun of today's rude customers.

"Oh!" Nick said suddenly as we walked along the emptying mall streets, "I'm applying for art school."

"Cool." I replied, trying to stop the melting ice cream from getting onto my hand. "where at?"

"Just a small local one," he said, "but if I do good the first year, I may be able to go to Paris!" My heard ached. It's not like I shouldn't have expected it, everyone I start to care about always leaves at some point.

"That's great!" I said, putting on a big fake smile before taking a lick of my ice cream. Luckily, Nick didn't notice my fake smile because he was too busy trying to stop his top ice cream scoop from falling off. Which he failed as we both stopped to look down at the splat of chocolate ice cream.

"Oh man!" Nick whined and I laughed as we both continued.

"By the way," Nick said, "I've been dying to talk to someone about this; but isn't it unreal how pale Athena and Damien are? I mean come on we're in Greece where the sun is always out. You'd think they'd be a little tan."

"I'm pale." I stated and he smiled, "well I guess that's true, but no where near as pale as them! I mean don't they seem unreal? I've never seen anyone like them."

"I have," I muttered a little.

"Really?!" Nick gasped, "where?!"

"Um," I started, "when my mom and I first moved here," I lied a little, "we saw a guy on a bus with similar features."

"Wow!" Nick exclaimed loudly as he tossed his trash from the ice cream away and I did the same, "Well I'll see you on Friday! Enjoy your day off!" Nick waved goodbye as he jumped onto a bus. When the bus was out of sight, I hailed a cab and returned to the hotel. However, the second I entered the hotel, I had to quickly hide behind one of the big plants when my eyes landed on Athena and Damien sitting in the lounge talking to people with pale skin like them. I briefly wondered if there some model convention in town or something. I slowly moved behind pillars and plants, making sure to keep out of sight and breathed a sigh of relief when I got into an elevator and the doors closed without anyone entering.

"That was close." I muttered to myself as I flopped down on the couch in the suite lounge. I decided that tomorrow, it would be safer to just stay in my room, read, and study to prevent a run in with the odd couple.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It's been another couple months since I met Athena and Damien. Despite my annoyance of her on first meeting, I've grown to really like her. She enjoys books just as much as I do and we occasionally sit and talk while I'm on my break. Although as my fifth month in the hotel came to an end, I started to get really stressed. I did save up a lot of money these past few months; but after doing some research, I realized that my plan to hop from cheap hotels would only last me two months with all the money I have saved up. To make matter even more depressing, Nick has cut back his working hours because he got accepted into the local art school. So here I was, walking alone in the closing down mall.

"Chloe!" I jumped when someone shouted my name and turned to see Athena waving at me from across the street. She quickly crossed over and came to me with a worried expression on her face.

"Dear what on Earth are you doing walking our here alone?" she asked, "it's dangerous at night."

"Oh," I muttered, not used to having an adult care about me, "well Nick was at school today and I was just looking for a place to eat before I went home."

"You mean back to the hotel?" she asked and I completely froze as my heart picked up in pace.

"How did you?" I asked and she gave a warm smile.

"Damien and I saw you," she admitted then patted my shoulder, "I'll treat you to dinner and how about you tell me all about it?" I bit my lip and looked up into her brown eyes that held so much worry it took me by surprise.

"Alright." I muttered and she led me to a small restaurant where we sat outside in the warm summer evening. The best part about the patio, was that we were able to sit in a secluded area so no one could hear us talk. Her husband was already there waiting for us and I felt physically nauseous at the thought of telling them my story of how I came here. So, to calm my nerves, I just ordered a soup and salad because I wasn't sure I could stomach anything heavier. It also didn't escape my notice that the two didn't get anything to eat or drink. And then after I ordered, I started to tell them. I told them that my parents died, and my uncle was in jail and I've been in and out of foster homes and I ran away from my last foster home. I kept my story brief, not wanting to talk about anything I've been through. The two listened quietly as I talked, and I only stopped when the waiter came over every once and a while. I also told them about the man on the bus and how he gave me all that money and prepaid for the hotel suite. Once I was done, I stared at my half-eaten soup and salad and waited for them to speak.

"The man that helped you," Damien finally said, "do you remember his name?"

"I never got it actually." I replied and he nodded thoughtfully.

"Well you've been through so much dear," Athena finally said, "if you'd like, Damien and I would be more than happy to welcome you into our home if you'd like." I quickly looked up in shock at her warm smile.

"Why?" I asked stunned.

"Well I really do enjoy your company," she said, "and it pains me to think of you being all alone with no home. Why don't you think about it dear and you can give us your answer in a few days? It sounds like you still have a few days left in the hotel." After Damien paid the two walked me to the car and Athena gave me a small hug with her freezing cold arms.

"I do hope you'll come live with us Chloe," she said, "I'm sure you haven't had many good homes, but I promise you that you will always be welcome in ours." I bit my lip while getting into the cab. I didn't sleep at all that night. My head kept swirling with thoughts about tonight. The two seem very nice, but deep down I just can't believe that they would actually want me to live with them. No one has ever wanted that before. But, I also didn't have anywhere to go once I had to check out of this hotel. I groaned into my pillow, not sure of what I should do. I looked at the picture of me and my parents that I kept by the bed that was now in a frame I was able to buy.

"What should I do mom and dad?" I asked the smiling couple who was holding a younger, happier version of me. I pressed my lips together and flopped back down onto the bed. No one has ever offered a home to me and even though I was sure I wouldn't be able to stay with them for very long, I decided it might be ok to accept their offer. And so, the next day, when Athena came to store, I pulled her aside and accepted her offer. She responded with a tight hug and a 'I'll go get a room ready for you,' before leaving the store with a bright smile.

Athena and Damien's house was on the outside of the city and my jaw dropped at the size. It wasn't a huge mansion, but it was still a freaking huge white house with two high end cars parked in the garage. The room Athena set up for me was big too. It had a huge closet and bathroom along with a big desk and book shelf. Athena helped me unpack while Damien disappeared into his office saying he needed to work. Eventually, Athena left me behind to get settled in and take a shower. By the time I was done unpacked and setting up my new room, it was already evening. I went down stairs to see the two sitting on the couch and they looked at me when I came down.

"Hay Chloe we have something to talk to you about before you get fully settled." Athena said and I bit my lip knowing they were going to tell me that I could only stay for a little while. I sat down on the couch opposite of them.

"Ok." I said, preparing myself for the set move-out deadline.

"Well dear what we are going to tell you has to be a secret," she said, "and you can't tell anyone no matter what. Also, once we tell you it will be up to you if you want to stay."

"Um ok," I said a little confused. Athena took a huge breath and smiled a little.

"Well I'm sure you've realized how unusual we are," she started, "and we want to tell you why before you decide to live here."

"Alright," I said a little hesitantly watching as the two shared a look.

"Well dear it's because we're vampires." Athena finally said and I just stared at them with my jaw hanging open. This had to be a joke, right?


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

But nope! The whole we're vampire's thing wasn't a joke at all. After a couple of disappearing acts and flashing around the house in a blur, following by taking out contacts to reveal bright read eyes. I was convinced and went into complete shock. Athena had to shake me a few times to finally get me to come back to reality while Damien ran around the kitchen trying to get me a glass of water, making it clear he's never used the water machine on their fridge.

That whole scene was three years ago, and I got used to the weirdness. And that's right! I said three years! It's the longest I've ever lived in a home and in fact, it was a lot of fun to live with vampires. In the first month though, I quickly learned that I would have to buy a lot of cook books if I wanted to eat decent food. I learned in my stay that Damien owned his own business and ran the whole thing from home while Athena just enjoyed doing crafts and reading. She seemed to love having me around and would drag me out of the house on a cloudy day to go shopping or something.

During the three years, Nick was moving his way up though art school and was getting ready to apply for the program in Paris. I told him about how Athena and Damien gave me a place to stay when (made up story) my mom decided to leave me. He was happy I had a home and was being taken care of. Despite the two of us being busy and not being on the same work schedule much anymore, we still hang out all the time. And even though we're both older now, we still act like immature children out in public. It gets us a lot of stars and disapproving looks but hay, I could care less.

One of the most important things that's happened this past year was a very important discussion with my vampire foster family. Athena and Damien told me about the Volturi and their laws, so we had to discuss me becoming a vampire. I'll be turning sixteen this year and we decided that twenty would be a good age for me to be turned. The sad part was that I wouldn't be able to see Nick again, but him going away to Paris soon would probably help a little.

"Happy sixteenth birthday Chloe!" Nick yelled from across the store when I entered work that morning earning a loud 'Nick no so loud!' shout from the owner in the back. I smiled a little as I walked into the back room to put my things away.

"So!" Nick said after following me in there, "the boss man is giving us an hour lunch today to celebrate your birthday since I have to go to classes tonight. I was thinking the euro place down the street with the patio. It's a beautiful day out even though it's cloudy."

"Sounds good," I smiled, "but if it rains on us again, I'm blaming you for getting me sick again." Nick gave me his bright 'you know you love me' smile as he walked back out to help some customers.

"I made you a present," Nick said as we sat at our lunch table waiting for our food. He handed me a small canvas and I carefully uncovered the painting. It was a painting of me with Athena and Damien, all smiling while sitting in the café at the bookstore.

"Wow!" I smiled, "it's beautiful!"

"Thanks!" Nick said, "took me two months to complete."

"You're so amazing," I smiled up at him, "you defiantly deserve to study in Paris." Nick smiled at my compliment.

"That's a beautiful painting," a man's voice said from behind me. I turned around and my heard skipped when I saw the pale man wearing sunglasses looking at the painting, "who are those people." I was about to open my mouth to say some customers, but Nick opened his mouth before I could say anything.

"Her adoptive parents," he said brightly completely unaware he was in the presence of a vampire, "and thank you! I painted it myself." The man nodded.

"Well you have great talent," he muttered before walking away and pulling out a phone. I nibbled my lip in worry, but our food came then, and I focused on my lunch hoping that vampire wasn't going to come back…

**(Demetri's POV)**

The scent of cinnamon filled my nose and my room like it usually did on these boring days in the castle. No missions this past month, no uprising, no unruly newborns. Everyone in the castle was enjoying their laid-back time. Although I would've preferred to be doing something productive, I guess I just had to make do with keeping our wonderful food fetcher entertained. And so here we were, yet again this week with Heidi lying under me as my lips roamed over her body, her red painted nails lightly traced up my arms.

"You're always so good to me Demetri," she sighed, and I chuckled.

"What are friends for?" I teased with a smirk and she returned my smirk with her own.

"Oh what am I going to do when you find a mate?" she faked sighed although I new that Heidi, more than anyone in this castle, wants me to get a mate. For years my best friend has tried to set me up with many vampires that came to the castle for a ball or a visit. I would've thought she would give up by now; but I don't think this woman knows the term.

"I completely satisfied," I murmured against her neck and she huffed while I pictured her rolling her eyes. "besides," I continued, looking up at her, "you sought me out today, remember?" Heidi gave her bright smile as she sat up and I followed.

"Well you don't have a mate yet," she said while pulling on her dress, "so I can't let goods go to waste." I rolled my eyes. The things this woman gets away with is astounding to me. But hay, so long as she's here my needs are satisfied too; so, I'm not going to argue with her.

"Demetri!" Felix banged on my door and I sighed, "Aro has a mission for us! Get up and get dressed."

"Duty calls," Heidi smirked as she stood up and slipped on her heels.

"Perhaps when I get back, we could continue." I hummed while also getting dressed. Heidi turned to me with her slutty smirk as she left the room making sure to toss her messy hair behind her as she left. The movement made her strong cinnamon smell engulf my room one last time and I frowned a little. I never really cared for cinnamon…

* * *

"What's the mission?" I asked Felix as we walked out of the castle with our uniforms on.

"Greek coven," he said, "apparently they have a human girl living with them. Aro wants her turned in a week or we kill her." I sighed and ran after Felix. Here I was hoping for a more exciting mission.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

My long birthday evening slowly came to an end with Athena and Damien. By the time we returned home from the night our and Athena's crazy antics, I was completely wiped, and Damien had to carry me to my room. I was just barley able to muster the energy to clean off my make up and pull on my pjs before flopping into bed and passing out.

The sound of our doorbell woke me from my deep sleep and grumpily opened my eyes to see it was only three in the morning. I was about to go back to sleep, but hushed voices from the entryway caught my attention. I quietly crawled out of be and then crawled the short distance down the hall to peek around a wall at the entry way. Athena and Damien looked worried as the talked to two men in the entryway. They both work heavy cloaks with hoods pulled down. The first man was very tall with short black hair. Because of his height, I couldn't really see the man standing next to him. But I could tell the second man had short blonde neatly combed in a way that I was pretty sure was out of style for this century. The tall guy shifted a little allowing me glance at the man next to him and my eyes widened. It was the same man from the bus all those years ago. I covered my mouth to muffle my gasp, but he still heard. The man glanced up at me and I quickly hid behind the wall knowing full well everyone knew I was there.

"Chloe," Athena appeared next to me in the next second, "you should be in bed dear."

"So this is the human?" the tall man appeared behind Athena and then Damien appeared in front of us.

"Leave her alone Felix." Damien growled a little making me cower to Athena who held me in her arms. The man named Felix raised an eyebrow at Damien and the look in his eyes made my heart speed up.

"Alright," a sigh came and the man who helped me appeared then looking tired, "that's enough Felix, we didn't come to fight. We are only here to deliver a message."

"Yet they argue with us." Felix snapped clearly unhappy. The blonde sighed and his eyes landed on me. He tilted his head a little looking slightly confused and it was Damien stepping in front of me that made him look away.

"Can't you tell Aro that we already have a set date?" Athena asked quietly.

"Four years from now," Felix rolled his eyes, "Aro may be flexible, but he's not four years flexible. You tell us she is sixteen, she is old enough to be turned." I looked up at Athena with questioning eyes and she sighed.

"The Volturi want you turned by the end of the week." She explained to me and I blinked and looked back at the men. So, these were the Volturi Athena and Damien told me about, the coven that rules the vampire world.

"How about we take this discussion to a more comfortable area?" the blonde asked, and I knew then it was defiantly the man, no the vampire, who helped me all those years ago. His voice is something I would never forget thanks to all his annoying questions that day. Damien finally relaxed and he nodded his head while Athena helped me stand up.

"Come dear," she said leading me down the stairs with Felix and Damien in front and the blonde walking closely behind us. It took all my will power not to turn around and ask him why he helped me. Well I doubt he even remembers me…

"Chole," Athena said once we were all seated in the living room. Me sitting between Athena and Damien on one couch while the other two sat opposite of us on the other couch. "This is Felix and Demetri, they're from the Volturi coven in Italy." So that's what the 'D' stood for in the letter that for some reason I still have in my bag.

"Hello." I muttered and noticed Demetri tilt his head while looking at me.

"Now then," Felix said quickly, clearly wanting to get out of here, "Lets start discussing details we can take back to Aro." I buried my head in Athena's arm and allowed my hair to hid my face from Demetri who kept looking at me every now and then. God I wanted to tell him off like it did on the bus, but the sudden realization of what he is kept my mouth shut. I was surprised he didn't kill me all those years ago.

As the talking went on, my earlier exhaustion came back and I found myself cuddling on Athena's hard lap and falling into a deep sleep. When I woke up the next morning, the two Volturi members were gone and I was giving a list of what to do today.

"I can't believe you have to leave so soon!" Nick complained at lunch that afternoon after I told our boss and him that I would be moving away. I told them that Damien's job requires us to move right away. Nick wasn't happy, but he was also leaving for Paris at the end of the week; so I guess it worked out in the end. After work we both went to dinner at our favorite taco place and sat out on the patio just acting like our usual stupid selves. When Nick started to dig into his food I looked around the mall feeling sad that I wouldn't be able to come here for a while. My eyes suddenly met a pair of red eyes from across the street. Demetri was leaning against a tree watching me and I quickly looked away, catching Nick's attention.

"What is it?" he asked looking over and it did too, but Demetri was gone.

"Nothing." I said and focused on my food.

**(Demetri's POV) **

It was indeed a boring mission. Just having to send a message to Athena and Damien about their human companion, I didn't understand why two elite guards had to be sent out to do this. Damien did put up a lot of arguing when we came to the home while Athena begged us to allow them to keep to their scheduled date for turning the girl. I personally didn't care when they turned her, but Aro has other opinions. The mission suddenly took a turn for the not so boring when a gasp caught my attention and my eyes briefly met the human's blue ones before she hid behind the wall. I tilted my head a little watching everyone run upstairs while I tracked this girl's essence with my gift. There was something familiar about it. It was then I decided to go upstairs and cool down the growing tempers, mostly Felix's temper. When I reached the group and spoke to Felix, I took the moment to look at the girl. Yes, her essence was very familiar along with her features; but before I could pinpoint why that was, the overprotective Damien stepped in front of her.

After another minute of bickering from Felix, I decided it was time to take the conversation to their sitting room. More for selfish reasons, going down there would allow me more time to observer the human girl. And as we sat downstairs, I started to remember. What really helped it click in my head was when she briefly spoke to say 'hello' then hid her face from me like on the bus. How interesting that the thirteen-year-old I met all those years ago would had grown to be such a beautiful woman, and alive none the less. I half expect she wouldn't have made it even after everything I got here. Yet here she was with a strongly beating heart, for now. Oh, and I see she took my advice about changing her appearance. Blonde was a good color on the child. Eventually, she fell asleep and Felix and I decided to leave once we had all our information.

"Alright let's go home," Felix grumbled as we walked way.

"You go," I said making him stop, "I need to hunt then I wish to spend some time here." Felix simply shrugged then took off into the night. I wondered the city after finding a decent meal. I enjoyed visiting all the areas from my human life, even if the were such a distant memory. It amazed me how well the human have taken care of the temples and ancient artifacts over the years. The day went by in a blur and when the sun set I decided it was time to leave, but not before I saw that girl, Chloe, one last time. I easily tracked her to a mall and there she was with a man sitting at a restaurant patio. I watched her joke with the boy and laugh. I leaned against a tree as I watched her. She was so different from when I saw her years ago. She seemed happy, more relaxed. It was then her eyes met mine and she quickly looked away. I took that as my cue to leave; so I turned on my heal and headed home.

Even to this day I still don't know what led me to help the child. It wasn't pity or some deep caring instinct. Lord knows I'm a ruthless killer like almost all vampires and that girl was my chosen meal that day. But there was something about her that compelled me to help and I just don't know why. I had taken money out of my own private account from before I joined the Volturi and paid for the hotel with the same account. Although I could've used my Volturi account seeing as I have more than enough money there as well. The very few elite guard members have access to the huge amount of money the Volturi have. Many spend a decent amount of their allowance, but I rarely tap into to the account. Buying things was never an interest to me and neither was money, a trait I carried on from my human life. I did, every three or so years, update my Lamborghini to the latest model; but that was about all for me. Yet for some reason I took out two-hundred thousand from my personal account for a human girl.

I never told anyone about that girl on the bus when I returned from my mission. I didn't even tell Felix or Heidi, my two best friends. Aro, of course, saw what happened when I reported to him and he read my thoughts. He never said anything, but his curious look didn't escape my notice when he moved away. Perhaps he saw that I didn't understand why I helped her. Whatever the his reasonings were, Aro never spoke of it to me or anyone and neither did I. And that was the end of it, I never really gave that child much thought after that. I think in the first year, I did occasionally track her essence to see if she was still alive but that was it. As the years went on, she became a distant memory like all things in this world.

"Ah welcome home Demetri," Aro smiled as I entered his office. I handed him my hand to give my report of the mission already knowing Felix did the same when he returned.

"Interested," Aro said while releasing my hand and returning to his desk. He wasn't referring to the mission, I knew he was referring to the girl.

"Well thank you for your report," he said and waved me off. I bowed and returned to my room only to be hit with that strong cinnamon scent.

"I need your help Demetri," Heidi sighed as she flopped back onto my bed, "I'm just so bored and no one will entertain me. Alec is such a hug stick in the mud you know?"

"Or perhaps the thought of you just doesn't satisfy him," I teased as I crawled up on her and she puffed her cheeks up in annoyance. She yanked my lips down to hers and I gave her what she wanted. Yes, Heidi was a beauty that many men in our would have yearned to get into bed. But I never saw her that way, to me she is a good friend who helps keep away boredom on occasion. Images of that Chloe girl flashed in my head for a brief second and I found myself thinking that the young girl would make a beautiful vampire.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**(Chloe's POV)**

**_~Five Years Later~ _**

I watched specks of dust fly around as I laid on the couch in the living room. It's been five years since I was turned. We had moved away from the city during my newborn phase, which was hell for Athena and Damien. But after a couple years, I learned more control and we were finally able to move back to Athens. Although, I wasn't allowed to go out much because my transformation would be clear to people. So here I was lying on the couch bored beyond belief.

"I'm bored." I muttered lowly knowing full well Athena and Damien could hear me.

"Would you like to play a game?" Athena asked as she walked into the room.

"We already played like five today," I complained, and Damien walked in.

"Maybe It'll be good for you to get out," he said, "I could call the Volturi. They will keep you busy and it'll be a great chance to meet people." I quickly sat up on the couch, my still dyed blonde hair flying behind me. After my transformation, my hair turned back to brown and Athena helped me dye it back to the blonde color I had grown to love.

"Would that be alright?" I asked looking at Athena. She looked a little sad but smiled anyways.

"I think it'll be good for you dear." She said and Damien nodded before taking out his cell phone and walking off.

"Thank you," I said while hugging Athena before running up to my room to pack. And then, after saying goodbye to the two; I ran off towards Italy.

**(Demetri's POV)**

I walked back into the castle, brushing off some dirt from my favorite grey jacket. Felix and I had just returned from a tedious mission of tracking down a newborn, who insisted on tackling me and dirtying my outfit. It was annoying, but after tearing off his arms and legs then hauling him back here to the dungeons, my annoyance faded. I stopped in the hall when the fading scent of lilacs surrounded me. Tilting my head, I followed the scent and was soon able to pick up on Heidi's cinnamon scent as well.

"You arrived early than I thought," I heard Heidi say, "you must be a fast runner."

"Oh sorry," a girl answered, "guess I was just overly excited." I heard Heidi laugh as I came to a stop behind the woman. The young girl from the Greek coven was standing there holding a bag in her hands with the that old torn up backpack on her back. I raised an eyebrow, surprised she kept that old thing through all these years.

"Oh welcome back Demetri," Heidi said and the girl next to her stiffened a little, not turning around. "we have a new member of the lower guard who's going to be staying here for a while."

"Ah," I replied my eyes landing back on the girl who refused to look at me. A small smirk ghosted my lips, remembering that's what she did on the bus as well. I suppose old habits die hard.

"Well since you're here," Heidi continued, "can you do me a huge favor? I have to go get dinner, so can you escort Chloe to an empty room in Marcus's wing?" Chloe's shoulders tensed even more as I looked back at Heidi.

"Alright." I replied and the red head smiled before taking off. "This way Chloe." I said and started walking down the hall towards the lower guard's rooms. I heard her following behind me and inhaled a little. So, she was the source of the lilac scent. My throat burned a little unexpectedly making me pull my eyebrows together in confusion, I know I fed before returning the castle…

"Interesting that you've come here," I decided to say, ignoring the burn in my throat. I glanced back at her to see she was staring at the ground. She didn't respond to me and I stopped walking and she followed, finally looking up at me when I turned to her.

"Not very talkative, are we?" I teased a little and she pressed her lips together making me chuckle a little. She was cute when she did that… I tilted my head a little as the thought flashed through my mind, it was very unusual for me to think like that.

"Demetri!" Chloe jumped at Felix's loud voice from behind her making me smirk a little as I looked up at him.

"Aro wants your report from the mission, oh." Felix stopped when he finally noticed Chloe.

"Why hello there!" he smiled and she blinked a little before nodding. She looked uncomfortable as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her movement catching my attention for a moment.

"I'll be there in a moment," I said looking back at Felix, "I'm doing Heidi a favor now." Felix nodded before walking off probably to go play his pointless video games.

"Let's go." I said and continued walking. The rest of our walk was spent in silence, but I did catch myself occasionally looking back at the girl who was looking at the decorations.

"Here's your room," I said stopping and opening the door for her. "Afton is the mentor for the new guards, he'll probably be by this evening to see you."

"Alright." She muttered and I watched her set her things on the bed, she noticed then that I was still there.

"Um, is there anything else?" she asked and I shook my head before turning on my heel and leaving.

**(Chloe's POV) **

I let out a long breath once Demetri was finally gone. I hated how tense he made me feel. I know how much money he spent on me and I felt so indebted to him, but damn was he still so annoying! Can't he just leave a girl alone?

I sighed as I plopped down onto the bed. Although, if he had left me alone back then I'd probably be dead now. I needed to find a way to pay him back so I can move on from that part of my life. A knock came at my door and I quickly got up to answer it. A girl looking around twenty with long black hair and a big smile was standing there.

"Hi!" she smiled happily, "you must be the new guard member. I'm Jamie, my room is across from yours."

"Oh hi," I smiled a little and she bounced into my room in excitement.

"Oh my gosh you have no idea how happy I am that another girl is here! All the others left and it's just been be sounded by all these guys. Oh sorry I didn't even ask your name."

"Chole" I replied decided that I liked her. She kind of reminded me of Nick. My cold heart pained a little when I thought about him. We lost contact years ago and even though I prepared myself for that, it still hurt since he was my first friend.

"Is it ok if I keep you company while you get settled?" she asked, "I'm just super happy that you're here."

"It's fine." I laughed a little at her enthusiasm before walking over to my bag and unpacking. For the next few hours I listened to her talk about everyone in the castle and all her friends here along with what we are asked to do for jobs. She eventually left to go see some other friends. When she left there was another knock at my door and I opened it to see a tall man with brown hair.

"Are you Chloe?" he asked and I nodded a little. "I'm Afton, I'm the mentor for the lower guards."

"Oh," I said, "nice to meet you." Afton smiled and I followed him to a small office. Once there he told me about the rules of the castle, social occasion, missions. One of the biggest rules was to stay our of the elite guard's way and listen to any orders they gave us. Once he was done talking, I went back to my room but stopped and looked at Jamie's door. I walked over and knocked on it and she answered in a second.

"Hay Chloe!" she smiled.

"Hay," I replied, "I was wondering if you could tell me about the elite guard." I said as she invited me into her purple decorated room. Jamie plopped down on her bed and sat cross-legged.

"They're the best of the best," she said as I sat on a chair, "each one has a very powerful gift. Alec and Jane are the ones you really want to avoid. The don't like people very much." I knew of them from stories Athena and Damien told me.

"Felix is pretty cool," Jamie continued, "oh and so is Renata. She's Aro's personal guard. She's nice." I bit my lip then dared to ask.

"And Demetri?" I asked and she glanced over at me.

"The tracker?" she asked and I looked at her in confusion, before I could ask she continued.

"It's his gift. He's the best tracker in the world. From my understanding, he can track a person through the essence of their mind. But I'm not really sure how his gift works." She shrugged, "but damn is he hot!" she giggled a little.

"Is he nice?" I asked and she thought for a moment.

"I've been here for years but haven't really had many run-ins with him. He's not overly nice like Renata, but ya, I suppose he nice." She finally said, "Afton describes his personality as very laid back and patient, which I guess you'd have to be if you're a tracker." I nibbled on my lip a little as she continued to talk about the other elite guard members. After another few hours of talking, I decided to go back to my room.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Its been six months since I came to Italy. Athena and Damien were right, the Volturi did keep me busy. Most of my time was spent going out with Jamie and a few other lower guards to check on covens. Other things I did was simple chores around the castle, but I still had a lot of free time. Luckily, the Volturi had a hug library in the lower guard area along with a big lounge that had a huge TV and games in it. On my second day here, Jamie introduced me to two of her close friends, Riley and Jason.

Riley was very funny, but a huge flirt. Jason was more laid back and enjoyed playing video games. I quickly learned that Jamie was the person to go to if you wanted to know what was going on in the castle. She seemed to be able to pick up on so much information and had so many things to gossip about. I was walking down the hall on my way to go meet Jamie in town to do some shopping when I heard voice coming down the hall. I looked up to see the infamous twins walking towards me wearing their uniforms. They were in a quiet conversation as they headed towards the exit, probably leaving for a mission. An unsettling feeling suddenly popped into the back of my head and it made me feel uncomfortable. I quickly pushed those feelings aside like I always do when they come up and moved out of their way.

"Alec, Jane." The two stopped close to me when Afton walked up to them. "are you two off for your mission already?"

"Yes," Jane replied with a cold tone and I bit my lip, I just wanted to leave but the two most dangerous vampires were blocking my exit. Suddenly my bad feeling increased and I pinched the bridge of my nose and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to will it away.

"Are you ok Chloe?" I heard Afton ask and I quickly looked up to see him looking at me in concern and it was then the twins noticed me. They both glared at me with cold expressions and I quickly nodded my head.

"Yes," I said to Afton then decided to tell the truth, "just have a bad feeling, I'm probably just thirsty." Afton opened his mouth, but a cheery voice came from behind him.

"Oh my dear twins are still here?" One of the leaders of the coven, Aro asked walking over to us. "oh and I see our newest guard member is here as well. Is everything alright?" Aro asked now noticing how Afton looked at me in worry and I looked down.

"Chloe was just telling me she had a bag feeling about something," Afton told Aro who frowned.

"My dear." Aro held his out to me and I wondered if a vampire could go paler than we already are. Of course, I know of his gift, and it scared me knowing that he could see my past. But knew I had to, so I reluctantly gave him my hand; never taking my eyes off the ground. After what seamed like ages, he pulled away with a small frown.

"Alec, Jane." Aro eventually said, "I'm going to delay your mission for the time being."

"Master?" I heard Jane asked in disbelief.

"Now, now young one," Aro said in a calm tone, "I just want to check something first. Now you two run along." I felt the twin's eyes on me before they left back into the castle.

"Dear Chloe," Aro continued, "I believe you were going out. Run along dear." I quickly nodded and made my escape, trying not to feel upset that now someone knows about my life.

"What kept you Chloe?" Jamie asked as she waved at me from the entrance of the mall. I apologized and we walked into the mall as I told her about my encounter before I left.

"Holy shit," she gasped, "I can't believe you got away from Jane without getting hurt." I flinched a little, I was well away of her gift. Jane and Alec were the same age as me when they were turned, but I knew better than to let appearances deceive me. I learned about that a long time ago.

"Ok!" Jamie smiled, "our mission to day is to find dresses for the ball tomorrow night." I held back a groan, I didn't want to go to the ball; I really hated crowds. But Afton said I was required to attend for at least a couple hours.

"Alright." I muttered and Jamie chuckled as we walked into a high end dress store. Jamie found a dark pink tight fitted dress in a matter of minutes. I opted for a royal blue dress that fit my tightly from the top and down to my waist before flowing out at my hips. It wasn't poofy like Jamie's dress, but I like it. There was a small shear slit that went between my cleavage and the point ended right below my cleavage. The back was open with silver straps holding together the dress. After we got our dresses, we picked out some jewelry and shoes before returning to the castle. I put my dress in the closet after steaming it and cuddled up in my bed while opening my book.

I enjoyed the rest of the evening reading in my room with the occasional visit from Jamie. I never did hear from Afton and what became of the twin's mission that Aro suddenly decided to cancel. But I just tried to forget about that portion of my day and move on.

* * *

And then the dreaded time came, time for the ball. Jamie came into my room and we got ready together. She styled my hair by curling it then taking a few strands from the top and doing a loose braid in the back. After applying some light makeup, we headed down the hall to the already packed ball room.

"Chloe!" Athena ran up to me and gave me a huge hug, which I returned and hugged Damien.

"How are you dear?" Athena asked while Jamie walked over to Riley and Jason.

"Great," I smiled and told them about my time here so far. I talked to them for about an hour before they walked off to go say hi to their other friends.

"That's a lovely dress." A voice from behind me said and I turned to see Demetri wearing an extremely expensive looking suit with a red shirt on. There wasn't a single wrinkle on any piece of clothing he had on and I briefly wondered if he was a perfectionist.

"Thank you." I muttered a little and he opened his mouth to say something.

"Demetri!" Heidi came up to him wearing a long blood red dress that made her cleavage stand out, a lot. "I've been looking for you. I want you to meet a friend." I watched her drag him away but not before he gave me one last glance. I quickly joined Jamie, Riley, and Seth and we all hung out for a while and giggle like school kids as we watched people. At some point Jamie had walked off and when I went to find her, I found her engaged in a heated make out session with someone. Knowing I'd be blushing if I were human, I quickly walked out onto the large balcony and let out a long breath.

"Not a people person?" I held back a groan at that all too familiar voice. Why wouldn't he leave me alone? I've managed to avoid him in the six months I've been here and thought he had forgotten about me, but apparently that wasn't the case. I could see him out of the corner of my eye as he leaned his back against the railing with his arms crossed. God I'm not even that graceful and I'm also a vampire! I bit my lip and looked out at the large, dimly lit garden hoping if I ignored him long enough, he would leave.

"Or perhaps you just don't like me." He continued and I could feel his eyes on me. I nibbled on my lower glossy lip hating the feeling of guilt that went though me. Every time I thought about him or he was around, I couldn't hold back my guilty feeling at how much I owe him and that I'm no where near being able to pay him back.

"I just don't like being bothered." I finally came up with something to say.

"So I've noticed," he replied but made no move to leave me alone.

"Tell me," he said after a moment of silence, "did you enjoy your stay at the hotel?" my whole body stiffened. Crap, he remembered that! He remembers me…

I quickly turned to run back into the ballroom, but he was already standing in front of me and my back hit the railing as he placed his arm on either side of me, trapping me.

"You shouldn't run when someone asks a question," he said with smirk as he leaned closer to me. My hands that rested on the railing started to tremble a little while flashes from my human life came back to me. I hated feeling trapped it made me start to panic a little.

"Get away," I whispered a little and he raised his eyebrow a little while I tried not to panic even more.

"It's a simple question Chloe," he said not noticing my shaking hands.

"Get away!" I hissed and harshly pushed him away in a panic. Demetri stumbled back a little, clearly not expecting that and I took the opportunity to hop over the railing and run through the garden and back to my room. Once I was in my room, I leaned against my closed door and sunk to the ground while gripping my hair in my hands and trying to calm my shaking body as I squeezed my eyes shut. I took a few deep breaths before finally calming down enough to get up and head to my bathroom where I took a long hot shower. The sounds of lower guards returning to their rooms told me that the ball was over, but I didn't bother to come out of my room. I stayed in the bed and tried to distract my panicked thoughts with a book.

* * *

The next week I spent time with Jamie, Riley, and Jason or in my room. Athena and Damien had come to say goodbye to me before they left after the ball, and I was grateful that I had calmed down enough for them not to notice something was wrong. At the end of the week though, I decided that fresh air would be a good idea; so, I made my way to the large garden and sat on a bench in a secluded area with a book in hand. I was so focused on my book that I didn't hear someone walking over to me.

"I did not mean to offend you at the ball," Demetri said, and I looked up to see him stopped a few feet away, "I apologize for my actions."

"No, I'm sorry," I said quietly, "I overreacted." Demetri shifted a little as he placed his hands behind his back.

"Perhaps a truce?" he said, and I raised an eyebrow at him as he continued, "how about you accompany me today?" I looked away for a second, debating. But I decided that I did owe him after my actions at the ball and after everything he's done for me.

"Alright," I sighed while closing my book and standing up and Demetri smiled a little and moved to the side while gesturing to me to follow him. I quietly walked behind him to the castle garage and stopped to see him opening the passenger door of a Lamborghini. Mumbling a 'thank you' I quietly got in and he got into the driver's side and started the car. I stared out the window watching the sun rise as he sped through the streets and onto the highway.

"You're such a strange woman you know that?" He said after a while of silence, "has me curious about your story." I tensed a little again and pressed my lips together.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" I finally asked with a long sigh.

"If I had would you still be alive today?" he challenged, and my shoulders slumped.

"Why did you help me?" I whispered while looking at my hands.

"Not sure," I heard him mutter after a while and I glanced up at him as he stared out at the road. After another hour we pulled into the parking lot of an aquarium called Aquarium of Cattolica. I've heard Jamie talk about this place, but never took the time to go. Demetri handed me some contacts and I reluctantly put them on then followed behind him towards the entrance. He showed the ticket people some card and we were allowed inside as the doors opened for business. I stopped when we walked by a huge tank and watched the big sharks swim by the glass. I walked over to the glass and pressed my hands to it as I looked into the large tank full of fish.

"Wow," I said watching more sharks swim by.

"Never been to an aquarium?" Demetri asked as he came to stand next to me. I frowned a little as I watched some fish.

"No." I admitted and saw him glance at me through the glass reflection.

"Not even as a child?" I moved away from the glass and started walking to another part of the building.

"Didn't have that kind of childhood." I muttered, stopping to watch a little girl smile at her parents as she pointed to fish in a tank. I moved my eyes to look at the jellyfish tank, admiring their glowing colors.

"They didn't have places like these when I was a child," Demetri said and I looked over to him and he smirked, "the wheel had just barley been invented." I smiled at this and let out a small giggle.

"I doubt you're that old," I replied, and he chuckled.

"Only fifteen hundred." He said lowly so only I could hear.

"Well that is kind of old then." Demetri smirked and I followed him into the next room where there was a large open tank for people to touch different sea creatures. I watched kids giggle as some manta rays splashed them. I followed him passed that tank and into a tube area that went though a larger tank where he stopped to watch a few sharks.

"Humans find such excitement in such little thing." I heard Demetri mutter and watched him stiffen as a couple kids ran passed him.

"You don't like kids." I stated and a small smirk appeared on his lips for a second.

"Rather annoying creatures." He replied, "too noisy for my taste."

"Well they're just kids," I said, "they don't know better yet."

"I thought that was runaway teenagers." He said with a raised eyebrow as he looked to me and I clenched my teeth.

"I had a good reason." I hissed lowly then stomped away and to a building with more tanks and some displays.

"And what would that reason be?" he asked, coming up behind me.

"It's none of your business." I snapped and watched as he pressed his lips together for a second.

"I've offended you, again." He stated after a moment and I turned my back on him.

"I just don't like talking about my childhood." I muttered while walking away. I came to a stop at another huge tank and plopped down on a bench that was against a wall and I watched the creatures in the tank swim around. I could see Demetri take a seat next to me out of the corner of my eye.

"I find that you are an infuriating woman." Demetri said while resting his hands on his knees as he leaned forward a little, also watching the fish.

"Thank you." I muttered and heard him chuckle a little and we fell into silence. I pulled my legs onto the bench and hugged them to me while resting my chin on my knees.

"Why to you insist on trying to talk to me anyway?" I asked, "I'm sure there's more entertaining woman at the castle." Demetri didn't respond right away and after a few minutes of silence, I didn't think he would.

"There's something different about you" I heard him mutter, "you're not boring." I looked over at him to find his eyes already on me. I quickly looked away and let my hair hide my face.

"There's nothing special about me." I whispered.

"No," he said, "I don't agree. You're…interesting and a mystery to me. I'm usually very good at understanding people. Predicting their actions is like second nature, but you never do what I expect. I find it to be very frustrating." I looked back at him then.

"You sound like a perfectionist." I said and he smiled brightly, showing all his perfect white teeth.

"I have been called that on many occasions." He replied. We sat in silence for a little longer and I went from watching the fish to watching the people around me.

"Perhaps it's just my long years of tracking," Demetri spoke again also watching the humans, "but I've learned that people are very predictable. Even without my gift, I could find them because they all do the same thing. They run and hid, thinking they've gotten away. It's such a boring pattern."

"Sometimes the thought of getting away is enough for some of us." I whispered, "even if we know we'll be caught, at least it's a time where we can be free." Demetri straightened up and leaned against the wall while crossing one leg over the other. I jumped a little when he softly moved my hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear.

"Do you not feel free Chloe?" he asked softly, "are you still afraid of what you were running from." I bit my lip and buried my face in my knees.

"I am." I whispered, "I-I know I shouldn't be. But I am. I don't think I'll ever be able to escape it. All the memories, the people and the fear. I feel like no matter how far I am, I just can't escape." I felt a hand rest on my back in a comforting way and let my shoulders drop a little. Damn I hated this man, why can he make me talk so easily?

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice announced over the speakers, "the penguin feeding time will be in ten minutes." I took a deep breath and stood up while Demetri followed.

"We should keep walking." I muttered and walked away.

We stayed at the aquarium until closing and I excitedly bought a penguin stuffed animal from the gift shop along with some educational books on marine life. The first hour of our drive back to Volterra was spent in silence except for Demetri playing some Mozart piano music.

"How do you track people?" I asked and he glanced at me for a second.

"Every person's mind has a different essence." He said, "I can fell and see that essence and pinpoint their location."

"What does an essence look like?" I asked and he tilted his head.

"A person I suppose," he replied, "each one is different." I stared at him for a moment and noticed that his contacts had finally melted away to reveal black eyes.

"Are you thirsty?" I asked and he frowned.

"I fed before I left." He muttered.

"But your eyes are black." I stated and he swallowed a little.

"Huh." Was all he said, and the conversation ended. After another hour he pulled into the garage and parked his car. Turning off the engine, he got out and I followed.

"Demetri where have you been?" Heidi asked walking over to him, not noticing me. "I've been really bored you know." She purred a little and something click in my head. So, they have that kind of relationship. I bit my lip and looked at the ground unsure of why that bothered me.

"So I was thinking – OH!" Heidi notice me then and I looked up at her as she looked between me and Demetri. Suddenly her eyes seemed to sparkle, and a bright smile appeared on her face.

"You know what, never mind" She said while backing away, "I have something else I need to do now." She vanished then and I heard Demetri give a long sigh.

"Um," I finally said, "Thank you for taking me out today. I enjoyed it." With that I grabbed my bag from the gift store and bolted out of the garage and to my room.

* * *

**Author's note: **

**Eight chapter updates in one day! I'm really enjoying this story more than the other one :D **

**Oh and sorry for any spelling/****grammar**** mistakes, didn't feel like editing it right now, but I will when I'm bored in class one day :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**(Demetri's POV) **

I didn't understand it. Why did she make my throat burn so much? Never in my long immortal life have I come across a being that has affected me so much. She had noticed in the car how dark my eyes were before I even noticed the burn in my throat. After she pointed it out though I had to swallow all the venom in my mouth. And then Heidi chose the worse time to make her presence known and after her little boredom rant, I was sure Chloe knew of my behind the door relationship with the allure vampire. When Heidi finally noticed Chloe, her eyes sparked with that look that made me groan inwardly. I would have to find her later and stop her from thinking too much into what happened today.

"Dinner Demetri!" I heard Felix shout and I quickly ran to the feeding room. Aro gave me a curious look when I entered probably wonder about my absence today. I was sure he was about to walk over to me, but Heidi walked in followed by our food. What was unusual today, was that instead of picking off the first human that ran by me, I sought out a young blonde female.

"Ah Demetri," Aro walked up to me, stepping over the dead humans, "we missed you today."

"Apologies master." I simply replied and handed him my hand. He took it and his eyes briefly lit up for some reason then he seemed to remember something.

"Oh that reminds me," he muttered, "Eleazar is here today. Demetri could you please fetch Chloe for me and bring her to my office. I'm rather curious about something." I raised an eyebrow and watched him leave while Heidi bounced up to me.

"So-" she started to say, and I cut her off.

"It's not what you're thinking." I said and walked out while feeling the curious glances of members from the elite guard. Heidi followed me out and blocked my path with an amused smirk.

"Why so thirsty then?" she challenged, "I was sure you fed this morning." I let out a long sigh watching her glow with excitement.

"I know!" she clapped making me jump and then she vanished. Oh, dear lord save me from what ever that woman is planning…

**(Chloe's POV) **

When I got to my room Jamie asked where I had been and I lied, telling her I just went out on my own to explore a little. She was satisfied with this response and left me alone to shower. Once I was clean and dressed, I opened my room door to go find Jason for some game time, but I ended up running smack into someone.

"Perfect timing," Demetri smirked while I backed away a little dazed, "Aro wishes to see you." I blinked at him as his words registered in my head.

"D-Did I do something wrong?" I asked in worry and he shook his head before pulling me out of the room and closing my door. He placed a hand on my back and led to Aro's wing which is supposed to be off limits to lower guards.

"No," he assured, "he just wanted to see you." We arrived at a double door and Demetri knocked lightly.

"Come in," Aro's cheery voice sounded and Demetri opened the door for me then followed me in. Aro was sitting behind a large desk smiling at a vampire that was seated in a chair opposite of him.

"Thank you dear Demetri," Aro smiled, "you may leave us now." I noticed Demetri hesitated a little before bowing a little and leaving the room.

"Sorry for calling you up so suddenly," Aro said waving me over and I walked closer to his desk wondering if vampires could get sick to their stomachs, "no need to be nervous dear. I just wanted you to meet an old friend." The brown hair vampire stood up then and shook my hand.

"I'm Eleazar," he smiled softly.

"It's nice to meet you." I replied politely.

"Eleazar here has a special gift," Aro said and I looked back at him, "he can tell what gifts other vampires have. You see when you told Afton about your bad feeling and I called off Alec and Jane from their mission, we later found out that some enemies were attempting to trap my dear twins that day. Your bad feeling seems to have saved their lives." I pressed my lips together betting that was just luck but didn't dare to speak.

"Well Eleazar?" Aro looked at the man who studied me a little.

"I've seen a similar gift with a nomad named Peter," Eleazar finally said, "they can get feeling about events, choices, people; but it would seem hers is far stronger. At least it has the potential to be." Aro smiled brightly and I bit my lip.

"How marvelous!" Aro exclaimed with a clap of his hands, "thank you dear for taking the time to come here, Demetri can escort you out of my wind."

"Thank you." I replied with a bow and turned to leave.

"Oh!" Aro suddenly said and appeared next to me with a smile while holding his hand out, "may I see one more thing?" I have him my hand wondering what else it could be. A bright smile once again graced his lips as he let go of my hand.

"How interesting that our tracker is so taken with you," Aro said quietly, probably so said tracker couldn't hear him from his spot in the hall.

"Um what?" I asked a little stunned and he waved his hand.

"Never you mind dear," he said, "now off you go." I bowed again and left the room to see Demetri leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and one leg crossed over the other. He looked completely at ease as he looked away from the ceiling and to me.

"Done?" he asked, and I nodded. I walked next to him as we walked through the hall of Aro's wing. We were just about to reach the exit when a gust of wind blew past us and Heidi was standing there with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her lips.

"Heidi?" Demetri asked with a small sigh.

"You two went on a date today, didn't you?" she asked while leaning forward a little and I blinked at her in shock.

"It wasn't-" Demetri started to say and moved to be standing closer to us.

"Oh this is so exciting!" she clapped her hands in excitement, "after all these years Demetri has finally found-"

"Heidi," Demetri groaned, cutting off what she was going to say, "I told you that it's not what you're thinking. You're so exhausting."

"I know," she smirked then looked between the two of us.

"What do you think of him?" she suddenly asked me, and I backed away; my back hitting the wall as she cornered me.

"He's a real gentleman you know," she continued and that feeling of being trapped started to consume me again.

"Heidi," I heard Demetri say with a sigh through my growing panic.

"Oh and he-" she stared to say, but a growl cut her off.

"Back away from her Heidi." A growl echoed through the hall and the three of us looked over to see Alec glaring at Heidi. I was finding it hard to be scared though, because all I could feel was the wall against my back and my trembling hands as the panic started to consume me.

"What the Hell Alec?" Heidi snapped not moving from her spot. Alec appeared next to her and shoved her back, forcing Demetri catch her wearing the same shocked look Heidi had.

"She needs space you idiot!" he snapped at her and I think it was then both Heidi and Demetri notice my trembling form. I spotted my exit route and ran off as fast as I could to my room without looking back.

**(Demetri's POV) **

I watched in worry as Chloe bolted out of the hall as I helped steady Heidi from being pushed by Alec.

"What the hell Alec?!" Heidi snapped, "you scared her off you idiot!"

"You're the idiot," he snapped back, "if you had actually paid attention you would've noticed her trembling before I got here. Or are you so self-centered, you can't tell when someone is in pain?" My eyes moved between the two, ready to stop a fight; but also worried about Chloe. Then I felt a small amount of guilt when I remembered Chloe had acted the same way at the ball. Was she trembling then too?

"Why you!" Heidi growled and Alec narrowed his eyes at her.

"It's a normal response," Alec said before Heidi could say anything else, "for those who have been abused their whole lives." My teeth clenched a little at his words.

I should've known that, why didn't I put that together? All the signs were there…

"What's going on here?" Aro's voice came from behind us.

"Nothing master." Alec muttered before vanishing and Aro looked to us. He held out his hand and Heidi placed her hand in his while I waited for my turn, but it took a lot of effort to not go after Chloe.

**(Chloe's POV) **

My hands shook as I leaned against my bedroom wall. I wasn't even able to make it to my bathroom before my panic overwhelmed and I fell to the floor trembling and trying to breath. I faintly heard a door open and close, but I was in too much of a panicked state to notice.

"Hay," a voice said from next to me and I felt a hand placed on my shoulder as someone knelt to be by me. "Just breath, you're ok." I felt a hand rub my back a little and I focused on that as I took some deep breaths and tried to stop my trembling hands. After what seemed like an eternity, I stopped trembling and took a couple more breaths. I looked over at the person and my eyes widened when they landed on Alec Volturi, the most powerful vampire in the world was kneeling next to me with his hand on my back.

"Didn't know I was that scary." He smirked, but there was something wicked about the smirk. I would've been afraid, had it not been for the gentle look in his eyes.

"It's going to take time," he suddenly said, moving his hand from my back and to my head, "coming from years of abuse doesn't just go away, even after being turned." I stared wide-eyed at him as he stroked my head a little.

He knows? How would he know?

"Jane and I went through the same thing for years after we were turned," he said, "although our reactions were far more violent than yours, there were times when Jane would panic like you. It took years for Aro and his brothers to help us." I bit my lip and took in a shaky, unnecessary breath.

"I-I didn't mean to run off." I whispered and he nodded.

"It's instinct," he said, "I know." A knock came at the door then, making me jump a little and Alec moved his hand to my back again as he looked up. Aro walked into the room and shut the door behind him.

"My dear I'm so sorry," he said with an unusual serous tone, "I did not realize it was so bad. Are you alright now?" I nodded a little as he stood behind Alec and looked down at me with worry. He studied me for a moment before nodding a little.

"Well, you just get some rest now dear," he said, "come Alec, thank you for taking care of her." Alec patted my back a little before standing up and following Aro out of my room and closing the door behind him.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**(Chloe's POV)**

The day after I ran out of Aro's wing, Jamie told me that the twins, Demetri, and Felix were all sent out on a mission and will be gone for about a week. I was also thankful to know that no one say Alec or Aro leaving my room because they were all hanging out in the lounge at the time. I love Jamie, but I know that if she saw that; everyone would know about it in seconds. Today I was in the lower guard library cuddled up on a couch next to the fireplace, reading a book. I quickly learned over the months that not many lower guards came to the library, so it was a good place to go for some quiet outside my room.

"Chloe?" A voice came from close to me and I looked up to see Heidi standing there looking a little uncomfortable. Which was weird, because Heidi always beamed confidence, I didn't know she could even get uncomfortable around people.

"Um, ya?" I asked and she tucked her hair behind her ear and sighed.

"I wanted to apologize to you for what happened yesterday." She said, "I didn't mean any harm."

"It's ok," I replied, "I'm sorry for running off." Heidi shrugged and she plopped down on the couch one cushion away from me and stared at the fire.

"No," she said, "you don't need to apologize. I was the one that didn't notice your discomfort. I was just really excited that Demetri was actually with a woman that wasn't me." I looked at her in confusion.

"I don't know why you'd be happy about that," I said, "aren't you two a couple."

"Oh God no!" she quickly shook her head and waved her hands, "we're just friends. Although I'll admit, when I was turned and came here, I did have a crush on him. But really, we're just good friends. There's nothing romantic between us."

"Oh," I muttered, "I guess how you approached him in the garage made me think differently." Heidi gave a toothless smile.

"You're still young to this world," she said, "boredom can lead us to do many things, especially when we don't have mates. Demetri is one of the oldest guards here, I don't really think he finds anything entertaining anymore." Demetri did give me that kind of vibe at the aquarium. Heidi let out a long breath as she crossed her legs.

"And besides," she said, "even though he gives me what I want, I'm confident in saying he doesn't care to much for me. Which would hurt my pride as an allure, if he wasn't my best friend." I knew of Heidi's gift, being able to attract people to her.

"Oh." Was all I could say, feeling a little uncomfortable with this conversation.

"You're the first person that he's taken time to actually hang out with," she said, "it's just not like Demetri to take a girl out to an aquarium or willingly talk to them." She stood up them, "well anyways, I'm happy you're feeling better. Bye!" With that, she was gone. I bit my lip and stared down at my book. I don't understand why Demetri insists on bothering me either or why, deep down, I really don't mind it.

_~One Week Later~_

It's been a week since my conversation with Heidi and we've passed each other in the hall a couple times. She would smile and ask if I had any plans with Demetri when he got home, which I replied there was no chance and quickly walked off. I just didn't understand why she cared so much…

"Not again," I sighed when I stopped at the entrance of the garden to see rain. All I wanted to do today after all my work was done, was go to my secret hiding place I found in the main garden and read in peace. My shoulders dropped a little as I held my Sherlock Holmes book in one hand and closed the door with the other. The door was halfway closed when a hand stopped it and I quickly jumped back to see Demetri walk in soaked from head to toe, his hair sticking to his face.

"Chole," he tilted his head a little, "my apologies, I didn't mean to startle you." He brushed off some water droplets from his sleeve after removing his long black cloak.

"It's fine." I muttered before turning on my heel and walking back in the direction of my room. I jumped a little when Demetri suddenly grabbed my wrist, but not tight enough to where I couldn't get away making me wonder if he did this on purpose.

"Hold on," he said, and I looked into his dark red eyes and blinked as he started pulling me down the hall. My shocked state was too confused to do anything, so my feet followed him. I nibbled on my lip as we entered Aro's wing, went up a couple flight of stairs before stopping in front of a large door with his name engraved in it. He pulled me in and walked me over to a couch before letting me go.

"Wait here for a second," he said as I eyed him in suspicion, and he disappeared. I pressed my lips together, looking at the door. If I ran, he would catch me in a second. And I also didn't pay attention to our path, so I have no idea how to get back to my room. I plopped down on the couch then and looked around the dimly lit room. The furniture was a dark brow wood that his blood red bed sheets complement. The couch I was sitting on was also read and was across from a fire place with a long foot rest between. On the other side of the room was a large desk and a large fully stocked bookshelf. It was a gorgeous room. Demetri walked out of a door that probably led to the bathroom, wearing some dry cloths. Another expensive looking suit with a navy shirt on and his damp hair was brushed into that old-fashioned style again. He walked over to me then and sat on the foot rest across from me. I shifted a little, putting some space between us.

"We should talk," he said as he looked at me and I blinked in confusion while he continued, "Chloe, why did you run away?" I shot up out of the couch then and held onto the book tightly, trying to damage it.

"I told you that it's none of your business." I snapped feeling infuriated that he just wouldn't leave me alone, he wouldn't stop asking questions.

"I believe it is," he said standing up as well, "seeing as I helped you." My teeth clenched together, and he sighed before grabbing the book out of my hand and setting it down. He grabbed my wrist again and sat down on the couch, slightly tugging at my hand.

"Sit." He said calmly, but something hidden deep in his voice made me believe there wasn't a chance I could argue with him; so, slowly sat down scooting as close to the armrest as possible to keep distance between us. Demetri let go of my wrist then and picked up a nearby remote and turned on the fire place. I watched the fire dance around as we sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Chloe," he finally said and I stiffened, "people here can help you, but you need to be honest with someone. I can help you."

"Why do you want to?" I snapped, "why is it so hard for you to just leave me alone?!"

"What if I had?" he asked, "would you have survived? Or perhaps you would've been taken back to where you ran away from." My whole body stiffened at the thought and I bit my lip to stop it from trembling.

"No," Demetri sighed, "I find I don't like the idea of you dead, it shouldn't bother me; but it does." I glanced at him to see he was staring at the fireplace, his eyes now completely black. I didn't say anything as I looked back at the fire and fisted my hands in my shirt. I forgot about my strength until I heard a small tearing sound and looked down to see I had torn my shirt up to my bra.

"Crap," I muttered and quickly covered myself. I suddenly felt a jacket being placed over my shoulder and looked over in time to see Demetri move away. I quickly put my arms through the sleeves and wrapped the jacket around me, being extra careful to not rip it. I already owed him enough money, I did not need to add to my debt. I inhaled and the smell of a fresh rain hit my nose and I found it comforting. I never did take time to notice Demetri's scent.

"Sorry," I whispered, not knowing what else to say.

"It does take time to learn our strength." He replied quietly and I felt him move my hair behind my ear.

"Have you told Athena and Damien about your human life?" he asked, and I shook my head a little.

"I just," I whispered feeling my eyes glaze over with tears that will never fall, "I just want to forget it."

"Forgetting takes time," he said, "and acceptance. We can never move on from our past until we accept it." I stared down at the ground for a long time as he rested a hand on my upper back.

"My parents were murdered," I whispered, "when I was ten. I found them when I came home from school." I buried my face in my hands as my shoulders shook a little, "there was so much blood and no matter how hard I try, I just can get the picture out of my head. And then my damn uncle didn't care about my grief and got himself landed in jail and me sent to the hell that was the foster system. No one cared about me or how I was treated. I ran away that night because…" I took a shaky breath, "because that drunken foster father kept trying rape me only to be pulled away by his wife who only cared about her getting in trouble and not me." I thought I felt Demetri stiffen next to me, but I was also too busy shaking to really notice. I gasped when he suddenly pulled me onto his lap and wrapped one arm around me while the other stroked my head.

"You're safe here Chloe," he whispered, "you must know that, right?" I nodded a little as I buried my face into the base of his neck and let his scent comfort me, closing my eyes I remembered how much I loved the smell of rain.

"You must greatly enjoy reading," Demetri said after a while and I had calmed down a little, "you are often in the library."

"Stalker." I muttered and he chuckled a little.

"Or just curious." He replied softly. I let out a sigh and looked up to see him staring down at me with black eyes.

"You should probably go get some food." I said and attempted to move, only to have him hold me a little tighter.

"I am fine," he said and looked up at him, "I don't want you to leave yet." I blinked up at him a little before looking back at the fire, not knowing how to respond.

"You have a gift," he suddenly said, and I bit my lip.

"According to Aro's friend." I replied looking at my hand that I didn't realize had been fisted in his shirt the whole time. I quickly let to and stared at the wrinkles in his shirt knowing it would bother the perfectionist in him. Ah well, serves him right for being nosy.

"A powerful one." He continued I looked up at him.

"I don't think so," I replied, "I just get feeling about things, that all."

"Yet your 'feelings' saved the twins a while back," he said "tell me what kind of feelings do you get about me?"

"Annoyance." I replied without hesitation and he laughed while I blinked up at him. That was attractive…I quickly shook away those thoughts.

"You do have a quick tongue," he said in amusement and I bit my lip. Demetri suddenly stood up and placed me on my feet. I had to hold his upper arm to steady myself because of the sudden movement and stiffened when his hands cupped my cheeks.

"You bit that lip a lot," he whispered as he brushed a thumb over my lower lip. I didn't realize how close he was until I felt his breath on my face. I also never realized how much taller he was, but now that he was so close, I realized I was only eye level with his neck.

"Never noticed." I muttered, trying to get my thoughts together. Demetri leaned down a little and my whole body froze in place.

"Demetri!" We both jumped and I quickly moved away from Demetri when pounding came at his bedroom door as Felix's voice boomed from the hall. "Aro wants your report on the mission! Where have you been man?!" His door swung open and I quickly hugged the jacket to me, remembering the condition of my shirt.

"OH shit sorry!" Felix yelped when his eyes landed on me and I suddenly realized I was in one of those 'it's not what it looks like' situations knowing my face would be bright red if I were human.

"Must you always barge in here Felix?" Demetri sighed as he straightened out his shirt. Man, Jamie was right when she said Demetri was laid back, while I was panicking Demetri was calm and acted as if he didn't even care about Felix's intrusion.

"I couple more minutes and I bet I would've barged in on the good stuff huh?" Felix wagged his eyebrows with a smirk and I just wanted to die on the spot. Demetri took a step towards the giant vampire who quickly ran out of the room.

"Shit sorry man! Don't kill me!" Felix's voice echoed down the hall and I watched as Demetri ran a hand through his hair with a long sigh. Demetri looked back at me with a small smile.

"My apologies for his behavior," he said then picked up my book and handed it to me, "read here until I get back and can escort you out of the wing." Right after I took his book he was gone, closing the door behind him. I stood there and stared at the book as realization hit me.

Was Demetri going to kiss me? No that had to be my imagination, it just had to be. I set the book down and laid down on the couch, staring at the fireplace. Closing my eyes, I let myself fall into a dreamworld and got what I considered the closest resemblance to sleep I could get. After a long time, I heard the door open and sat up as Demetri walked back in holding a red shirt.

"Here," he said handing me the shirt, "Heidi said you could borrow it." I bit my lip as I accepted the shirt and he turned around so I could quickly change.

"Thank you," I said as I folded his jacket and rested it on the top of the couch. Demetri nodded before opening his door again and following me out of the room. I walked next to him as we moved through halls and down steps and I was sure this was defiantly not the way we came.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked and he placed a hand on my back.

"Long way," he replied quietly, and I glanced up at him. I bit my lip as we continued, and he suddenly stopped.

"Don't do that," he said, and I looked up at him in confusion.

"What?" I asked and he stepped closer to me while I froze in place.

"Bit your lip," he said, and his eyes flashed to my lips.

"Why?" I asked and he quickly looked away before he continued to walk, and I followed him after a second. I watched my feet as I followed him down some curving stairs and brushed my hair out of my face when a gust of air from somewhere blew it in front of me. I was too busy moving my hair away that I didn't notice Demetri had stopped so I ran smack into his back.

"Sorry." I said quickly taking a step back to see his whole body was tense.

"Screw it." I heard him mutter and before I could react his hands had cupped my cheeks and his lips were on mine.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**(Demetri's POV) **

I could've escorted Chloe out of Aro's wing before I left to report to him, but I found that I didn't want her to leave. When she told me why she ran away a strange overwhelming feeling of protectiveness came over me. I wanted to keep her in my room where she would be safe and away from the world. I pulled my eyebrows together as I walked to Aro's office, I didn't understand why I felt like this. Something keeps drawing me towards her and I feel completely at ease when she's around. Then there's the part where she makes my throat burn as if I were a newborn all over again. I let out a long sigh as I fixed my shirt which was still wrinkled from Chloe's grip. Normally it would annoy me, but I found that I didn't really care because it was caused by her.

"Ah there you are Demetri," Aro smiled up from his paperwork when I entered his office, "how unusual it is for you to not repot to me right away." He stood up and walked over to me, taking my already out stretched hand.

"Ahh," he pulled away with a smile and what looked like amusement in his eyes.

"Well I won't keep you any longer," he said as he sat back down, "you may leave now." I bowed and as I left the room, I thought I heard him chuckle a little, but dismissed the thought. Before I returned to my room, I stopped by Heidi's room just as she was leaving to go get us dinner.

"Hay," she smiled, and I pressed my lips knowing right away I would regret this.

"I need to borrow one of your shirts." I said and she raised an eyebrow while I sighed.

"Chloe ripped hers." I muttered and inwardly cringed as her eyes light up and a wide smile appeared on her face.

"And how did that happen?" she asked with a little too much excitement.

"It's not what you think Heidi," I sighed, "I was simply talking to her and she ripped her shirt because she was upset and forgot her strength."

"Oh my gosh!" Heidi gasped, "she's in your room, isn't she?!" Damn this woman's intuition…

"Heidi," I let out a small groan while running my hand through my hair. She gave a bright smile before disappearing and returning with a shirt in her hand.

"She can give it back whenever she wants," Heidi smiled, "unless you rip it off her first." She winked at me before running down the hall and I rolled my eyes before walking back to the staircase that led to my floor. I was stopped on the winding stairwell by Marcus.

"Sir," I bowed a little and moved out of his way while he gave a rare warm smile.

"I see you've finally found your mate Demetri." He said and my head snapped up to meet his eyes while I looked at him in confusion.

"Pardon?" I asked and he gave another smile before walking away while I watched. Was he referring to Chloe? No, there was no way she was my mate. Sure, I may find her attractive…

I didn't realize I had continued walking until I was staring at my bedroom door.

Although, it would explain my behavior towards her and why my throat burned every time I was near her. It would also explain why every time she bit her lower lip, I would be overwhelmed with the sudden urge to kiss her. I walked into my room then and watched as she sat up from the couch and accepted Heidi's shirt. After she changed, I walked her out of my room and down the opposite direction we came. I needed more time near her to gather my thoughts; so, I chose the long way back to the lower guard wing. Not many take these halls, the castle was built like a maze in case there were intruders, or a human escaped from us or Heidi's tour group. It would be impossible for a human to get out of these winding halls without being caught.

"Where are we going?" Chloe asked, bringing me from my thoughts about Marcus and her.

"Long way," was all I said to her and I glanced down at her just in time to see her biting that lower lip. Damn, was she doing that on purpose? Did she know how much it affected me? I stopped walked, taking a second to rein in my emotions.

"Don't do that," I said, and her confused eyes locked with my black ones.

"What?"

"Bit your lip," I said after taking a step closer to her, using my long years of practicing to keep my emotions from showing; but I couldn't stop my eyes from briefly flashing to her lips.

"Why?" She asked and I didn't answer her, instead I continued to walk and heard her follow a couple seconds later. Her lilac scent was driving me crazy, yet it relaxed me at the same time. If this young girl truly is my mate as Marcus believes (and let's face it he's usually right about this stuff), I didn't know what to do. I clearly wasn't her favorite person right now and she always seem so tense when I'm near her. And then there's her past and her current issues that have caused her to panic and run off. What if I did something that scared her off? What would I do then?

I pressed my lips together as I led her down some winding stairs. Although I wasn't completely sure she's who Marcus was referring to. Who else could it be? It clearly wasn't Heidi and I haven't come across other woman recently, at least none that had captured my interest. I suppose I could kiss her to see what happens, but that seamed like a very bold move for such an inexperienced girl and one who hasn't had the best memories of men…

A gust of wind blew into the castle from some open windows and carried down the stairs causing Chloe's scent to surround me and make me stop dead on the stairs. I should keep walking, I needed to ignore these feelings that threatened to overcome me. I didn't even budge when she ran into my back and her brief contact pushed me to a breaking point.

"Sorry." I faintly heard her mutter and the picture of her biting her lip flashed through my mind. The urge to kiss her was so strong I wondered if it was worth fighting anymore.

"Screw it." I muttered to myself before turning around, gently cupping her face in my hands, and placing my lips against hers. Time seemed to stop as my lips connected with hers and I felt her freeze under my hands. I needed to pull away, this was inappropriate for me to do. But just as I started to gather up my strength to pull away, I felt her lean in and timidly respond to the kiss. My body relaxed as a smile ghosted my lips before I wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer while moving my free hand into her silk like hair. Her inexperience showed as her lips shyly moved with mine, but I found that I enjoyed it more. She was perfect and nothing could make me change my mind on that. A part of me in this moment wanted to take her back to my room and hide her from the world, keeping her only for myself. Ah, but that was vampire instinct of mine. Her sassy nature would probably be kicking and screaming the whole way there anyways. I smiled against her lips at the thought.

"This way please. And stay together." Heidi's voice rang from the main floor at the bottom of the stairs. Even though Chloe and I were out of sight from the humans, I could hear their many heartbeats and breaths along with the clicking of cameras. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Chloe who kept her hands on my chest that I didn't even notice were there.

"My apologies," I finally whispered, "I couldn't stop myself." Chloe tilted her head and her blonde hair followed the movement. Damn she needed to stop being so alluring or I really will lock her up in my room until the end of time.

"We're almost there," I heard Heidi's voice grow closer and I pulled Chloe closer to me as I glanced behind my shoulder and just barley saw Heidi and the humans walk by the stairs case, knowing the humans couldn't see us in the darkness.

"Um," Chloe finally whispered, "I-I can find my way back now if you're thirsty." I didn't want to separate from her yet, but her scent made my throat burn and the smell of human blood seemed to cloud my judgement. I'm usually very controlled even when thirsty. My arms wrapped around Chloe and that was the only thing preventing me from attacking the humans before they entered the throne room.

"Wait until they get into the throne room." I muttered while burring my nose in her hair to further block out the scent of the humans. Chloe must have realized why I asked and did this because she didn't say anything as we stood on the steps in silence. After what seemed like an eternity, I could hear the doors close as the screams started. Chloe moved away then and I watched her walk down the stairs then vanish out of the hall. Pressing my lips together, I quickly turned on my heel and ran to the throne room before all the dinner was gone.

**(Chloe's POV) **

Demetri kissed me! And I kissed him back! I didn't understand why I kissed him back because all I could think about was that he freaking kissed me! It took all my will power to run off and not got back to him. I didn't understand why I wanted to be around him or why he made me feel so relaxed…

I ran a hand through my long hair and let out a sigh as I shut my room door and leaned against it, thanking God Jamie isn't around right now. She would instantly see pick up on that something happened, and I don't think I'm in the state to come up with a good lie right now. I brushed my fingers against my lips, recalling his lips against mine. I quickly shook my head to clear my thought and walked into the small bathroom to take a long hot shower.

The next day I sat half way up on a large tree in the garden, my secret spot I discovered a few weeks ago. The leaves were thick on the tree, so unless someone was looking hard, they wouldn't be able to see me. I didn't bring a book with me today because I couldn't seam to focus on anything. My mind kept going back to that kiss and Demetri. I sighed while hooking my leg on the branch and holding onto it before moving to hang off upside-down. I remember watching kids when I was little do this and have fun, it was probably fun because of the blood that rushed to the brain, which I no longer have. But I found this to still be a good way to think even if it looked childish. I closed my eyes and let out a breath as the wind blew threw the trees and moved my dangling hair around my face.

"What on Earth are you doing?" My eyes snapped open to meet Demetri's confused bright red eyes. He was standing on the same branch looking down at me with his hands behind his back. I panicked internally; I was not ready to see him again. I was still trying to wrap my brain around the kiss and why I kissed him back.

"Um," I finally said, "thinking." I swore I felt my dead heart flutter when he raised an eyebrow and leaned down a little to get a better look at me, his hands still behind his back. I also noticed he was wearing that old styled grey suit that he always seems to wear especially on missions, I wondered if it was his favorite outfit or something.

"Well that's a strange way to think." He muttered while tilting his head. Was he always so attractive? I guess I was always too busy being annoyed or trying to avoid him to notice.

"No," I replied while looking away from him, needing to get my thoughts together, "being upside down helps give a different perspective of the world, so maybe it can give a different perspective of thoughts."

"An unusual thought." I heard him mutter and there was silence for a while, although I could tell he was still standing there. I quickly pulled myself up to be sitting on the branch again and looked up at him.

"Did you want something?" I asked while standing and he shrugged. He opened his mouth to say something, but then tensed as his head snapped to the castle wall.

"What's wrong?" I asked and he placed a hand on my mouth as his eyes scanned the area.

"Someone outside the castle walls," he said quietly, and his tense posture made me realize this someone was an uninvited vampire. I blinked at him as his eyes continued to scan the garden wondering how he knew this so quickly. I couldn't even pick up on someone's scent or noise outside the wall. I blinked again, was there more to his gift than just tracking? I always thought he had to meet someone to track them and that's how he made it sound when he told me; but was there maybe something more to his gift that he doesn't tell people? My tense shoulders relaxed when Demetri relaxed as well, but with a confused look on his face.

"Strange." He muttered more to himself than to me. It was then he noticed his hand was still over my mouth and he pulled away.

"Go to your room Chloe," he said, more like ordered, "I need to report this." I nodded and waited for him to leave, but he didn't move as he watched me. I sighed, realizing he wanted me to leave first; as if making sure I would do as he said. Which I probably wouldn't have if he left first. Damn man knows me more than I'd like…

Demetri followed me all the way back to my room where we crossed paths with Afton. Demetri told him to order all the other lower guards back into the castle until there was more information on the intruder. However, for some annoying reason, I was the only one ordered to stay in their room while the others just had to be in the castle. I couldn't help but stick my tongue out at Demetri's back as he walked away.

"That's childish." I heard him say with what sounded like amusement in his tone and I quickly pulled my tongue back in before huffing and closing my room door.

After several hours, Afton told us we could leave the castle again. I heard that Demetri and Felix had left a while ago and was thankful that I could get a breather from Demetri to get my thoughts together. The second I stepped out of the castle, Jamie bounced up to me with Riley and Jason right behind her.

"Hay we're going to the mall in Venice, want to come?" she smiled brightly at me. A shopping trip would be a great way to keep my thoughts busy.

"Sure." I replied and ran back to my room to grab my purse and wallet before meeting the three at the main gate.

"Last one there pays the first expenses!" Jamie shouted as she got a head start with Riley right on her heels. Jason and I shared an eye roll before following them.

Jamie stopped at almost every store in the mall and I was surprised she hasn't spent all her money yet. I didn't really want to buy anything today, but I kept my eye open and mostly talked with Jason and Riley.

"She's unbelievable," Riley said in shock as we watch Jamie carry a pile of cloths in her arms to the check out counter at the store we were in.

"I am not carrying her bags back," Jason huffed but I think we all knew Jamie would find a way to convince both boys to carry her things. I let out a small chuckle at the thought before turning around to look at a rack of cloths. It was then my eyes landed on two humans not too far away and I felt my whole body freeze up as my eyes widened. It was them, my last foster parents. Why were they here? My hands shook a little as my eyes landed on the man. Of all the people to run across, why did it have to be him?

"You ok Chloe?" I heard Jason whisper as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I backed away before quickly turning on my heel and running out of the store at human pace.

"Hay!" I hear Jason and Riley call after me, but I ignored them. The second I was out of human sight; I ran as fast as I could. I didn't know where to, I just knew I had to run.

**(Demetri's POV) **

I absently listened to Felix complain about our failed attempt at tracking whoever was outside the castle walls. Because I never saw them directly, I didn't get a good link to track them very far. It was strange though, I wondered why a vampire would be sneaking around the castle in the first place.

"I'm going to report to Aro." Felix said before taking off just as Afton came around the corner.

"Demetri," Chelsea's mate smiled at me in greeting, "any luck?"

"No," I replied, "it was unusual though." Afton nodded and was about to speak, but three lower guards ran up to him looking worried. I recognized the girl; Chloe spent a lot of time with her.

"Afton something happened!" she said in panic.

"Calm down Jamie." Afton said, his full attention on the three. I was about to walk away, but her next words made me freeze.

"Chloe ran away! We couldn't catch up to her or find her anywhere!"

"What happened?" Afton asked and I looked over my shoulder at the three.

"I'm not sure," on of the boys said, "she looked at this human couple, panicked, then ran off."

"She looked really scared too," the other boy said, "but I don't get it, it was just a male human with his wife; yet he seemed to freak her out. Jason and I tried to run after her but couldn't catch up under the eyes of human. She had taken off by the time we could use our speed." Afton eyes briefly locked with mine and I looked away while walking off, making sure I looked uninterested in this.

"You three just stay here," I heard Afton say, "I'll go report this and I'm sure she'll come back soon." His last words barely reached my ears as I walked outside and ran off. I could tell Chloe was somewhere at the edge of Italy. I tracked her over the border and into France where I could tell she had finally stopped in the Mercantour National Park. I slowed down in the thick woods of the park and walked off the road.

She was close and remembering where I found her this morning, I looked up into the trees until I finally spotted her. She was half way up on a large tree that easily hid her from human view. Although I doubted there were any human this far into the forest. My eyes moved to the heavy storm clouds moving closer before jumping up into the tree. She was leaning against the trunk hugging her knees to her chest and burring her face in her knees.

"Chloe." I breathed as I looked down at her and her head snapped up. Her glazed over eyes met my red ones. I expected her to look away or tell me to leave her alone. What I didn't expect was her to fly forward and hug me while burring her face in my chest, trembling. My suspicions had to be right. She must have seen her last foster parents, the ones that she ran from. My teeth clenched as I wrapped my arms around her, and I decided then that I would go kill him; no, I would kill both of them. But I need to be able to track one of them first and what many people didn't know about my gift is that if someone thinks about a person, I can get a link to their essence as well. While it may not be as strong as it is when I see them, it is still enough to hunt them down. I needed this man's name though so I can track him.

"What happened?" I asked, stroking her head and feeling her hands fist into the back of my jacket under my cloak.

"H-He was there." She whispered into my chest.

"Who?" I pressed a little.

"George," she said, "t-that man-" I patted her head to stop her while a smirk formed on my lips as I tracked the human's essence to Venice. He will die, but right now I need to focus on Chloe.

So, I picked her up and sat down on the branch and rested my back against the tree while pulling her onto my lap. Her arms wrapped around my neck as she rested her head against my shoulder. I kept one arm secure around her while my free hand stroked her head. It was then I felt a small rain drop land on my cheek and I looked up at the clouds. The thick branches of the tree would stop most of the rain, but I sill removed my large cloak and flung it over us, putting the hood on my hand to keep it in place making it act like a tent around me and Chloe. Not long after I did that, the rain started to pour down. The tree did block most of the heavy rain and my cloak blocked the rest. A loud crack of thunder rumbled through the forest and my heightened hearing picked up on the animals of the forest running off to find shelter.

"How are you?" I asked moving my hand to her neck and watched her open her eyes a little.

"Better," she whispered, and I looked at her still shaking hand that was fisted in my jacket. I placed my hand over hers and it was then she looked up at me.

"What do you love about Athens?" I asked, knowing if I could get her to talk, she would calm down more. Chloe gave me a confused look before answering.

"The temples." She said while looking away.

"They were far more magnificent when they were fully built." I pointed out remembering the times.

"You lived in Athens?" she asked, and I smiled a little.

"I was born there," I said before pressing my lips together not really being able to recall much of my human memories. Although I didn't really care about those memoires much anyways.

"Jamie told me you were from the Egyptian Coven." She said and I smiled a little thinking about my maker and friend, Amun and his wife. Thoughts of them made me realize it's been a while since I visited so I made a mental note to do that soon.

"Amun found me when I traveled to Egypt for an arranged marriage." I said, "he is a good friend." Chloe shifted a little and I looked down at her to meet her dark red eyes.

"You were going to get married?" she asked, and I sighed while moving my hand from hers and wrapping that arm around her as well.

"It was for money," I said, "which was something I could care less for, even today I don't really care about that stuff."

"I bet you have plenty of that." She muttered and I smirked a little.

"More than I'll ever spend," I said, "my car is the only luxury I spend it on. Nothing else interests me."

"Not even these overly priced looking suits." She said while flicking the button on my vest and I laughed.

"Well I suppose these as well," I replied and smiled down at her in time to see her roll her eyes.

"Do you even own a pair of jeans?" she asked.

"Nope." Chloe rolled her eyes again at my response before resting her head back on my chest. The rain had slowed to a drizzle as the thunder become more distant.

"What about you?" I asked, "what interests you?"

"Books." She replied with a small smile.

"Not shopping?" I asked, "what an unusual woman." A faint smile touched her lips as she messed with a button on my jacket.

"Stories offer an escape," she said, "beside I'm used to not getting very much, so I guess I never really thought about shopping as fun. Unlike some people, I have a budget." I chuckled at her sassy tone.

"Then I'll take you shopping." I said and frowned a little when she stiffened.

"I already owe you a lot of money," she muttered, "I don't need to add to the debt." I tilted my head a little. Is this why she was always so tense around me? Because she felt like she had to pay me back?

"You don't owe me anything," I said, and she glanced up at me.

"Yes I do," she said, "you spent a lot of money on me, I have to pay you back." I rolled my eyes.

"It didn't even make a dent in my private account." I said, "beside I never use my private money from before the Volturi, I barley even use their money I'm given. I already told you that I could care less about money; so, forget about it. You don't owe me anything." She bit her lip and I sighed.

"But if you want to pay back your debt," I said, "you can let me take you shopping, and we'll call it even."

"That makes no sense," she muttered, and I smirked.

"Fine," I said, "you'll let me take you shopping, and you'll accompany me to the ball Aro is putting on in a month."

"That ball isn't for lower guards." She argued.

"We can invite whoever we want," I said.

"I don't like balls."

"And I don't take no for an answer," I smirked, "besides, you can't really escape from me." Chloe rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, still resting her head against my shoulder.

"You're annoying." She puffed her cheeks out like a child and a small smile touched my lips. She was very beautiful…

The phone in my pocket buzzed then and I was shocked I got service out here, I think that's what people call it. I sighed as I pulled out the horrid thing hating that Aro forced us all to carry them with us. Unlike the others, I was finding it difficult to comprehend modern technology. It's not that I didn't understand how to use it, it was just that I didn't like it. I pulled up the text from Felix.

_'Where are you?' _I sighed as I responded that I was coming back now.

"We should go." I said to Chole and she gasped when I stood up with her still in my arms. She had caught my cloak that I forgot about and held tightly to her chest.

"I-I can walk." She stuttered while I shrugged.

"I'm a fast runner," I said not willing to let her go, "beside, can't risk you running off before the ball." Chloe glared then stuck her tongue out at me before quickly wrapping her arms around my neck and holding onto the cloak as I jumped out of the tree. She held onto my cloak and kept her head buried in my neck as I ran back to Volterra. She didn't say anything or complain about being carried the whole way back. When we reached the city, I took an underground passage only the elite guard knew of. The passage connected straight to Aro's wing, so we were able to avoid running into anyone from the lower guard. I figured Chloe didn't want to around people just yet based on her tense posture when we entered the city. So, I took her to my room and set her on the couch.

"I'll go get a change of cloths from Heidi," I said as she looked up at me, "You are free to take a bath or shower and read whatever you like from my book collection. I'll be gone for a while, so stay here until I get back." Chloe bit her lip and nodded while I resisted the urge to kiss her again. Instead I placed a hand on her head and lightly kissed her forehead.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I said, "just relax in here." With that I left the room. My first stop was Heidi's room and she agreed to leave some cloths for Chloe on my bed. Naturally, she had heard about Chloe running off and was worried about her, so I was able to avoid her wild 'find Demetri a mate' antics. But that won't last long, and heaven forbid Marcus tells her what he said to me a day ago…

"Ah Demetri," Aro looked over to me when I entered the throne room. The only other people there were Jane and Alec, quietly talking in a corner.

"I have a request." I told Aro knowing I would have to get his permission before I took off to kill that human. Aro tilted his head because it was very rare for me to ask for something and I could tell it also captured the twin's attention. I placed my fingers on Aro's outstretched palm.

"My such violent thoughts from our normally calm tracker," Aro mused as he pulled away.

"Do what you want." He without hesitation and a small smirk ghosted my lips as I bowed and quickly left, feeling the twin's eyes on me the whole time. I could care less about their curious stares though as I tracked the two humans that made Chloe suffer and ran off.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**(Chloe's POV) **

After Heidi dropped off some pajamas for me. I sat on the couch staring at the fire with the clothing in my lap. I was hesitating to go into the bathroom because it felt awkward since I'm in Demetri's room. After a few minutes, I let out a sigh and walked into the large bathroom that held a huge steam shower and a large bathtub. I shook my head a little thinking this was way too big for one person. I set Heidi's cloths down along with the bath bomb she gave me and turned on the water for the large bathtub. And I mean large, it looked like at least three people could fit in it. Once the tub was filled, I closed and locked the door just in case before getting in. I let out a long sigh as I dropped the bath bomb and watched it dissolve in the water. The lavender scent surrounding me as I relaxed back into the tub. After a while the water went cold, and the bath bomb was gone so I decided to get out. Heidi's cloths were a little too big on me, but they would work until I got back to my room.

I dressed then I walked back out into Demetri's room and looked around, my eyes eventually landing on his large bookshelf. I walked over to it and started to skim through the books, realizing they were all first editions. My eyes stopped on the Sherlock Holms book I had left behind, and I quickly grabbed it before settling into the large couch. I don't know how much time had passed, but Demetri finally walked into the room and closed the door behind him. I watched him remove his large cloak and noticed his eyes were back to a bright red. I quickly looked down at my book when he looked over at me and pressed my lips as I heard him walk into his closet, probably to change.

"It's almost ten in the morning," Demetri said walking out of the closet, and I looked up at him. He stared back at me while buttoning his red shirt sleeve and pulling on another expensive looking jacket.

"Oh," I said looking over at the large red curtains that blocked out all the sunlight, but I could see the small specks of sun trying to get through.

"I should go then," I said while closing my book and standing up. I hesitated then, suddenly remembering that going back to my room would mean I would have to face Jamie and the others. Jamie may love gossip, but she's also very loyal to her friends. I don't worry about her going around talking about my freak out session, but I just didn't want to face anyone right now. I didn't want to deal with the questions, or the worrying looks from Riley, Jamie, and Jason. My eyes snapped up to meet Demetri's when his hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my thoughts.

"You may stay here for the day," Demetri said, somehow knowing what I was thinking, "if you still need time. However, I will be attending trials all day; so, I won't be around." I chewed the inside of my cheek.

"It's fine," I muttered, "I don't want to intrude any more than I already have."

"No," he said making me look up at him, "you're not intruding at all, and you're always welcome here Chloe." His hand moved from my shoulder to cup my cheek and I blinked a little, the memory of our kiss coming back, and I was thankful I couldn't blush anymore.

"Just don't push yourself," he said with a warm smile. I stared into his red eyes and I swore my dead heart was fluttering. I need to ask him about that kiss, why did he do it?

"Um Demetri?" I started to stay, finding the courage to ask. He tilted his head a little and just as I was about to ask, a knock came at his door. His eyes moved from me and he looked at the door while pulling his hand away from me. I found that I missed the contact as he turned to face the door.

"Yes?" Demetri asked, clearly knowing who was there.

"We need to get to the throne room." Felix said on the other side, although he made no move to open the door like the last time I was here.

"I'm coming." Demetri replied and I heard Felix walk off.

"I-I'll stay." I whispered knowing he could still hear me. I thought I saw his lips form a small smile before he nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. I let out a long sigh and looked around the room again. Eventually, I walked back to the couch with a new book and focused on the story to keep my mind distracted. Several hours went by, but I didn't really notice; until someone burst into the room.

"Chloe!" I jumped and fell off the couch when Heidi burst into the room.

"Opps," Heidi smiled as she stood behind the couch and stared down at me, "sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Um it's fine," I muttered wondering why she was here. Although after my last conversation and learning about her 'relationship' with Demetri, I had a hunch she was in here a lot. My heart pained unexpectedly at the thought as I stood up to face her.

"Demetri isn't here," was all I could think to say as I shifted uncomfortably.

"I know," she said, "I'm here for you!" I blinked as she grabbed my hand and started dragging me out of the room. She closed the door behind us, and I stared at her back while she pulled me down a flight of stairs.

"I was thinking you would be bored to death," Heidi finally said as we walked down a hallway right below the floor Demetri's room was on, "I mean that old man doesn't even have anything modern in his room. I tried to convince him to at least get a radio, but he just won't." Heidi let out a frustrated sigh as she pulled me into her bedroom. The room was the opposite of Demeter's. It had all modern furniture with a TV, a computer, and a radio. Her purple curtains were pulled away from the windows, letting in the afternoon sun. I looked around the room, finding I preferred Demetri's; but Heidi's room was nice too.

"Ok," Heidi smiled as she closed the door, "I'm thinking we have a girl day. I have a lot of nail polish that needs to be used." I watched her walk into her bathroom as she continued to talk, "you like reality shows? I was going to watch reruns of Say Yes to The Dress." She walked back out holding a huge container of nail polish, "I just don't know why, but that show is so addictive."

"Ok." I said a little hesitantly and she smiled at me as she waved me over to the couch.

"Come one," she said, "I don't bite." I smiled a little as I sat on the couch and watched her open the container.

"Well let's pick out a color," she said, "oh and I can do designs as well!"

**(Demetri's POV) **

It felt like the day would never end. Every trial was the same, boring and predictable. Afterall, those on trial were here for a reason. But, Aro always insisted on hearing their side and a few were set free with a simple warning. A part of me was anxious to get back to Chloe, however that part was dulled by the thought of her being in my room. She would be safe there and that was enough to satisfy me as I continued to help Felix hold down the struggling vampires. When Aro finally dismissed us, I ran to my room only to find Chloe gone. I frowned a little and tracked to her Heidi's room. I pinched the bridge of my nose a little at the information, lords knows what Heidi is up to now. Running a hand though my hair, I turned on my heel and walked to Heidi's room. I didn't bother to knock as I opened the door and walked in into her room.

"Why would anyone wear that?" I looked over at Chloe's voice and saw the two-woman sitting on the couch, their attention was focused on the TV.

"She looks like a cupcake." Heidi said and the two giggled. Chloe was resting her back against the couch armrest with her legs resting over Heidi's lap while Heidi was painting Chloe's toes.

"Heidi," I finally said, gaining their attention.

"Hay!" Heidi smiled and I raised an eyebrow at her, my eyes moving between the two women.

"I borrowed Chloe for the day," Heidi continued as she closed up the nail polish, "hope you don't mind."

"I see." Was all I could think to say, wondering what Heidi was up to.

"I should get going," Chloe said while standing up and slipping her feet into some slippers.

"Thanks for keeping me company Chloe!" Heidi waved as I followed Chole out. I looked over my shoulder at Heidi in question only to receive a wink from her. Rolling my eyes, I closed the door and followed behind Chloe.

"I trust you had a good day then." I finally said as I walked up to be next to Chloe.

"Um, ya." Chloe replied with a small smile. I stared down at her for a moment and spoke without thinking.

"You should smile more," I said, "you're very beautiful with a smile."

"Oh, U-Um… thank you." Chloe seemed to be struggling for words and I glanced back at her to see her biting her lip.

"You're biting that lip again." I muttered and her eyes snapped up to meet mine, I barley noticed that we had stopped walking.

"Sorry," she breathed, "I guess I do that a lot huh?"

"You do." I replied and her eyes met mine. Again, I wondered if she knew how much she affected me…

"Hay Demetri," she said, breaking eye contact and looking down at her feet as she fiddled with her hands, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course." I replied, resisting the urge to move her hair out of her face. I watched her nibble her lip for a second before speaking.

"U-Um," she stuttered, "I was wondering why you kissed me?" I should have expected that question, but it still took me off guard and I shifted a little as I placed my hands behind my back.

"You kissed back." I finally said to avoid answering the question. Chloe looked up at me through her lashes and I stared back, making her quickly look back down.

"You kissed me first," she muttered, "I don't understand why or why I even kissed back." I let out a sigh as I ran a hand through my hair, trying to find an answer. The problem was that I didn't fully have one. I couldn't out right tell her that Marcus believes she's my mate. I was about to speak, but tilted my head when Chloe got a confused look on her face and moved her eyes to look out the window.

"What's wrong?" I asked as she stared out the window.

"I-I think there's someone in the gardens," she muttered and bit her lip, "I don't know I just have a feeling…" the second those words left her mouth I moved forward a little and pulled her to me, feeling the need to protect her as I used my gift to scan the castle. I didn't sense anyone new…

No, there it was. The essence of someone I didn't recognize, but I was having a hard time getting any sort of link.

"Demetri?" Chloe breathed clearly sensing my alert state.

"There's an intruder." I said loud enough for anyone nearby to hear me. Chloe jumped a little when Alec appeared next to me and looked out the window.

"I'll gather the guard," he said, "alert the ancients." With that he was gone, and I picked up Chole making her yelp a little.

"Stay here," I said when I set her back down in my room. She looked like she was going to argue, "please, just stay here. You'll be safe." Chloe pressed her lips together at my last statement before nodding and I left.

"Two times in a week," I muttered as I stood on the wall of the gardens and looked around with Felix nearby.

"We didn't find anything," Alec said walking into the gardens from the town with his sister.

"Maybe that girl was wrong." Jane snapped and Alec placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No," I muttered, "I was sure I sensed someone. And Chloe's feelings have been proven to be very accurate." After we reported to Aro, he decided to increase castle security for the time being. The others were dismissed, but Aro made me stay behind in his office.

"How is Chole?" Aro asked as he took a seat behind his desk.

"Fine." I simply replied and he nodded a little.

"She is a beauty, Demetri." Aro continued while eyeing me and I tilted my head a little, wondering where this conversation was going. I looked behind me when the door opened to reveal Marcus who shut the door behind him.

Ah, so that's what this is about. No doubt Marcus has made Aro aware of the relationship he's seen between me and Chloe. I pressed my lips together, watching Marcus take a seat in a chair by the fire place.

"Sir," I finally decided to ask, "is Chloe who you were referring to the other day?" Marcus tilted his head and looked at me.

"If you have to ask, then you already know then answer." Was his reply and I pressed my lips, again.

"You are lost for what to do." Aro stated making me look back at him. I guess I've been with this coven so long that he doesn't even need to be reading my mind to see through me anymore.

"I don't know how to approach her," I admitted while placing my hands behind my back. Aro nodded a little while leaning back in his seat.

"It is your choice what you choose to do," Aro finally said, "but I would advise you to use caution. She is new to our world and has never been in a romantic relationship. Given her past as well, she will need time to grow. Not just to heal, but to grow. Not having much of a childhood can make her be more childish now that she's able to learn about the world." Images of Chloe at the aquarium flashed through my mind when Aro said this. I remembered back then noting that she would act like a little kid seeing something for the first time.

"On the other hand," Aro continued, "she has shown maturity beyond her human years and that could be a result of her running off. She had to learn from a very young age to fend for herself." Aro let out a long sigh as he placed his hands to his lips and stared at me.

"It is hard for her to trust, Demetri," Aro said after a moment of silence, "I'm sure you're already aware of this."

"She is not comfortable around people," I replied, "even those she calls 'friends' she seems to be unable to trust them." Aro nodded a little.

"It takes time," Marcus chimed in, "yet I can see the threads of trust attached to you. She is beginning to trust you Demetri. The best you can do for her now, is continue what you have done. Be there for her."

"With all that said," Aro spoke up, "should Chole tell you about any more of her 'feelings' report them right away. I do not like that we've had an unknown visitor two times in a week. With this information, I want you stationed at the castle for the time being. You may go out whenever you like, but I want you close; just in case. And stay alert, although I doubt that's something I need to tell you."

"Yes sir," I bowed a little, "and thank you." Aro dismissed me and I returned to my room to find Chloe sitting on my window ledge with the curtain pulled back. She was reading and using the setting sun light as her light. Although with our night vision, she wouldn't need light to read anyways.

"Good book?" I asked and she looked up at me.

"Ya," she said while closing it and standing up. "Is everything alright?"

"For now," I replied, deciding that I would be honest with her. Chloe pressed her lips together for a second before speaking.

"Well thank you for letting me stay here," she said, "but I should probably return to my room now. I'm sure Jamie is worried." I shifted a little not wanting her to leave, but I can't be selfish; so, I held the door open for her.

"I'll walk you out then." I said quietly and followed her out into the hall.

"Hay Demetri," Chloe said halfway down the hall and I looked down at her.

"Yes?"

"You don't have to meet people to track them, do you?" Chloe said, taking me by surprise. That was a secret kept between me, the ancients, and the elite guard. Not even my maker, Amun, knew of the extent of my gift.

"No," I said after a minute of silence, "but that is information I would prefer to keep secret." Chloe looked up at me as we stopped at the exit of Aro's wing.

"I won't tell." She said and I smiled while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I am thankful for that," I said while pulling my hand away. She nodded before turning on her heel and running off. I resisted every urge to go after her as I walked back into Aro's wing.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**(Chloe's POV)**

Jamie stayed with me the rest of the night when I returned to my room. She had no clue I had been in Aro's wing. Jamie had just assumed I went back to my cover, and I didn't tell her otherwise. While I know she's good at keeping secrets, I think me being in Demetri's room for the past day would be too big of a secret for her to keep. And I'd rather not be the latest scandal of castle gossip. One thing I learned very quickly when I got here, is there was some unspoken thing about lower guards not mixing with the elite guards. Apparently, the elite guards are like celebrities in our world.

A couple days later I was out in the main garden with Jason and Riley. Jamie had gone home to visit her cover for a few weeks, so it was just me and the boys. We were currently sitting in a circle on the grass playing phase 10 and enjoying the warm cloudy day.

"Again Chloe!" Riley complained as I finished up another phase before the two could. I smiled at him while Jason collected the cards and shuffled them.

"You're not good at this game," I teased, and Riley pushed me a little, making me fall onto my back into the grass with a giggle. A shadow appeared above me and I looked up to see Demetri looking down. He held the same casual look he usually wears, but I thought I saw something like annoyance in his eyes.

"Am I interrupting something?" Demetri asked as I sat up a little while Riley and Jason quickly stood up.

"We were just playing games sir," Jason said, and I stood up.

"I see," Demetri muttered, "The ancients need more patrols of the city, can you two do that?" He asked looking at the two boys and I pulled my eyebrows together in confusion. I don't remember Afton saying anything about that.

"Will do," Riley said and looked at me, "Sorry Chloe, we'll play later."

"Alright." I smiled and watched them take off before bending down and picking up the cards.

"Who are they?" I heard Demetri ask and I thought I heard a hint of annoyance in his voice. I looked up at him while putting the cards back in the holder.

"Riley and Jason?" I asked in confusion, "they're my friends." I closed the card holder and started to walk back into the castle, but Demetri grabbed my wrist.

"You owe me a shopping day." Demetri said and I pressed my lips together.

"You were serious about that?" I muttered and he smirked. Ugh, that smirk always puts butterflies in my stomach.

"Of course," he said, "now come on." I held back a groan as he pulled me to the garage and opened the door of his car for me.

"I really don't need anything." I complained as we put on contacts and walked into the large mall a couple cities away from Volterra.

"Then buy what you want," Demetri said and I rolled my eyes. I stared at my feet as we walked through the food court and tried not to cringe at the smell of the food.

"I don't want anything." I muttered and heard him sigh a little.

"I doubt that," he replied quietly, and I bit my lip. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a packed clothing store.

"I believe this store has cloths your generation prefers." He said while walking into the store and over to the women section. I looked around the store and my eyes landed on a cute shirt. I pulled my hand out of his and walked over to examine it. I could tell he was standing close behind me as I looked at the shirt and nibbled my lip. Suddenly, Demetri's hand reached up and took the shirt off the wall hanger and I looked over at him.

"You want it right?" he simply said, "you can have it." He handed me the shirt and I took it after a minute of hesitation.

"You don't have to buy things because you just need it," he said, "it's ok to buy things you want every now and then. So please, treat yourself."

"With your money?" I muttered and he smiled while I let out a sigh. Well since he brought me all the way out here, I might as well do some damage to his credit card. Although I'm pretty sure I could buy everything in this mall, and it wouldn't make a dent in his account.

I stared at Demetri's credit card in my hand that he gave me while he took all the bags back to the car. He handed me the card and told me to continue shopping. I already bought so much stuff though because of his pestering…

Sighing, I leaned against the wall and looked up at the store across from me. My eyes landed on a stuffed animal and I looked up at the sigh of the store that read 'Disney.' I've never seen one of their stores and before I realized it, my feet had walked me into the store.

**(Demetri's POV) **

I closed the trunk of my car and walked back into the mall, secretly happy that Chloe finally bought things. I looked down at my phone to ensure I wasn't needed back at the castle before putting it away and tracking Chole. I was about to walk into the store she was in, when loud tiny squeals caught my attention and I froze in place outside the Disney Store. Little kids were running around the store picking up toys while some whined while their parents drug them out. Clenching my teeth, I spotted Chole and walked over to her as she looked at a huge stack of stuffed animals, I assumed were characters from Disney movies.

"Demetri look at this Dumbo stuffed animal!" Chloe smiled brightly at me as she held an elephant with huge ears in her hands. I opened my mouth to say something but something behind me caught her attention.

"Oh my gosh they have Winnie the Pooh too!" She bounced around me and hurried over to another large display of stuffed animals while I stiffened as a couple kids ran passed me. I really hate kids…

"Oh what should I get?" I heard Chloe mutter to herself, too lowly for humans to hear.

"Get whatever you want." I said, wanting to leave this store.

Little did I know that would end up with a huge bag of stuffed animals to carry around. But Chloe was bouncing with happiness as she held a yellow bear in her arms that was name Pooh. She clutched the bear to her chest as she turned on her heel to look at me, her hair flying all around her.

"Thank you, Demetri!" I stood froze as she smiled up at me, her eyes shining brightly under the fading blue contacts.

She is so beautiful…

My phone buzzed in my pocket then, making me jump a little. Thankfully Chloe didn't notice as she had continued to walk on. I swallowed the venom in my mouth before answering it.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Hay the ancients want you back soon," Felix said on the other line, "when will you be here?"

"I'll leave now." I said and hung up. I walked up to Chloe who was looking into a dress store, her eyes glued to all the high-end dresses. My eyes followed her and landed on a long purple dress.

"We need to leave," I said looking back to her and she nodded then followed me out of the mall. The drive back to the castle was spent in silence and I occasionally glanced over at her as she hugged the bear to her and stared out the window.

"I can take my things back," she said when we got to the castle and I watched her pull all the bags out of the car.

"Um Demetri?" she said as I closed the trunk.

"Yes?" Chloe glanced up at me and smiled a little.

"Thank you, for today." With that she turned on her heel and sprinted off to her room. A small smile touched my lips as I walked into the castle.

"YOU!" I jumped at the yell and took a step back as Heidi stood in front of me with her hands on her hips.

"Alright old man!" she growled, "you fess up now!"

"What?" I asked while regaining my emotions and putting on my uninterested look.

"Oh don't you do that!" Heidi grabbed a fist full of my jacket and pulled me closer to her, her red eyes almost glowing.

"You tell me where you were and what's going on with that girl or so help me Demetri!"

"Oh man what did you do?" Felix's amused voice came from behind me as I stepped away from Heidi.

"He went on another date and didn't tell us!" Heidi said as she pointed at me and Felix raised his eyebrow at me.

"Another date?" he asked, and Heidi turned back to me.

"You tell me what's going on now Demetri!" she demanded while I placed my hands behind my back, wondering if I could get around them both.

"Oh my gosh!" Heidi gasped and I stepped away when she zipped up to me and stared into my eyes.

"You fed this morning, but your eyes are black!" I tensed and prayed for someone to intervene. Heidi let out a squeal making me, and Felix jump as she took a step back and pointed at me again.

"She's your mate!" Heidi yelled so loud I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in Aro's wing heard her.

"Who?!" Felix asked looking between the two of us while I glanced at the open door. Chloe essence was in the garden, alone. I glanced at Heidi as she opened her mouth and bolted out of the castle.

"Don't let him escape Felix!" Heidi shouted.

**(Chloe's POV) **

Thanks to vampire speed, I was able to put away all my new things in minutes and decorate my room with all the stuffed animals. After looking over the newly decorated room, I grabbed my book and walked out to the garden to wait for Jason and Riley to return. I was about to sit down on the bench when someone suddenly picked me up and I was being held bridal style. I yelped a little and looked up to see Demetri who started running to lord knows where.

"U-Um," I tried to say, and he shushed me.

"Trust me," he said looking over his shoulder, "I need to run right now." I blinked up at him as I held onto my book. I could faintly hear Heidi yelling in the distance, before Volterra faded from view and we slowly came to a stop in a valley with a waterfall. Demetri continued to hold me as he looked behind his shoulder before letting out a breath and setting me on my feet.

"That woman is a menace." I heard him breath out as I blinked up at him.

"Um why did you kidnap me…again?" I finally asked and he blinked at me, as if just now realizing I was here.

"I apologize," the calm Demetri was back as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Heidi and Felix started chasing me, you were in my path and for some reason I grabbed you." I blinked up at him.

"Um, you knew I was in the garden." I pointed out and he pressed his lips together.

"I did." He muttered after a minute then I watched him sit on a nearby bolder.

"Ok." I muttered, not knowing what else to say as I rocked on my heels. A light breeze blew around us and I heard Demetri inhale while I looked up at the sky.

"So why were Heidi and Felix chasing you?" I finally asked, looking back at him. He was staring out at the small lake with the waterfall.

"Heidi is too observant." He replied after a minute and I sighed, realizing he won't say anymore than that. I sat down in the grass and then laid on my back, looking up at the colorful sky with the setting sun. I saw Demetri lay on the grass next to me and felt the butterflies in my stomach again at his closeness.

"What is so entertaining about the sky?" he asked quietly, and I pulled my eyebrows together in thought.

"Don't know," I muttered, "I enjoy watching the clouds change shapes and naming what they look like."

"You find entertainment in the strangest things," he mused after a moment of silence and I sat up a little, resting my weight on my elbows and looked down at him.

Boredom. The thought hit me then, Demetri always seemed to be bored. If I remember from what Afton told me, he's been a vampire for over a thousand years; almost two thousand. I'm sure he's seen and done a lot in his long life.

"Why did you join the Volturi?" I blurted out and his darkening red eyes moved from the sky to my eyes. I watched him move to rest both hands behind his head and cross one leg over the other as he continued to lay in the grass. The movement almost looked like a lazy motion and something about his position seamed unreal. Whenever I've been around Demetri, he's always in a perfect posture, even for a vampire. Every movement he made seemed to be calculated. But this new position made him look more relaxed and almost human…almost.

"I didn't have much else to do," he finally replied, and I quickly looked away from him, realizing I had been staring. I looked back up at the now night sky and watched the blinking lights of satellites move across the sky.

"But you seem bored being here." I said quietly and his soft chuckle filled our quiet surrounding.

"No matter where I go, I'll be bored," he said; almost sounding sad or maybe tired.

"I guess things don't surprise you anymore." I muttered while moving to hug my knees to my chest and rested my chin on them. Through the curtain my hair created when it fell, I could see Demetri sit up.

"You surprise me." He said and I gave him a confused look then froze when he tucked my hair behind my ear. His fingers brushed along the tip of my ear and I swore it felt like someone shocked me.

"You never do what I expect." He continued while moving his hand away and I looked up at him through my lashes.

"Oh." Was all I could stupidly say, and I could see his smirk clear as day with the vampire night vision. I stared out at the small lake while trying to gather my thoughts.

"I just don't understand why you insist on taking care of me." I said after a long silence.

"You expect me to ask something of you in return." He stated and I nibbled on my lip and nodded a little.

"Is it so hard for you to trust Chloe?" he said quietly, and I looked at him while pressing my lips together.

"People always want something," I muttered, "they always lie, hurt you, and the good ones will always leave you. That's what I've learned."

"It must not have been easy," he said while resting a hand on my head, "to have lived through what you have." My shoulders slumped a little.

"Would it be so hard to trust that I have no other motives?" he whispered as he moved his hand from my head and cupped my face with both hands, making me look at him.

"People always leave. They will always hurt you." I replied and he frowned a little. He stood up then and pulled me with him. Before I could react, he had pulled me to him with my face buried in his chest as he held me close.

"I won't abandon you Chloe," he said and I blinked into his chest as my arms stayed at my side, "I will be on your side, even if it takes you decades; I hope that one day you will trust me."


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: **

I laid on my bed a day later, staring at the ceiling. My thoughts consumed with thoughts of Demetri. Letting out a long sigh, I rolled out of the bed and headed for the door. I opened the door only to run into Afton.

"Oh sorry Chloe," Afton said, "I was just about to knock."

"Did you need me to do something?" I asked, knowing Afton only came around when he was handing out extra assignment.

"Not really," he replied and handed me a box, "you're expected to attend the ball tonight."

"What?!" Jamie was standing by us in a second. Even from the game room, her ears are as sharp as ever. I swear that girl can pick up gossip material from a mile away.

"Chloe why didn't you tell me about this?!" she placed her hand on my shoulders faking a devastated look, "this ball is only for the elite guard!" I nibbled my lip. I did not want to tell her that Demetri invited me.

"Aro wants her there," Afton interjected on my behalf and I blinked at him. "With the strange things that's been going on recently, Aro has requested she attends tonight's ball due to her gift."

"No way!" Jamie was practically bouncing in excitement and she pushed opened my bedroom door and pulled me through. "Well don't you worry Afton I will get her ready and she will look like a queen by the time I'm done!" I stared at Afton in horror as he smiled a little before my bedroom door closed.

"Ok!" Jamie pulled the box out of my hands and set it on the bed then opened it to reveal a long purple dress. It was an off the shoulder lace purple dress, one that I had been admiring at the mall.

Demetri…

"Let's get started," Jamie turned to me with a bright smile and I held back a groan.

* * *

I fidgeted with my fingers as I followed Afton through Aro's wing and towards the ballroom. A few of the guests walked with us and Afton made small talk with them while I remained quiet. I looked up at the large open doors of the ballroom watching people enter and my eyes landed on Demetri. He was talking to a man right outside the entrance and he stopped the conversation when his eyes landed on me. I stood frozen to my spot as he walked up to me.

"Do you like the dress?" he asked, and I looked down at the gown.

"Yes," I muttered, "thank you." His hand appeared in my line of sight then and I looked up at his warm smile. Biting my gloss covered lip, I took his hand and let him link my arm through his then followed him into the ballroom. Music was playing and people danced on the large floor while others mingled. It was a far more elegant ball then the ones the lower guard attends. I even recognized many of the covens from photos Athena had shown me. They were well known covens in our world.

"I don't think I should be here." I muttered and panicked when I noticed we were heading towards the dance floor.

"I-I can't dance!" I whispered in panic and he smiled down at me.

"You'll be alright." He said calmly, just follow me. And so I did, I focused on Demetri while trying not to goof up the dance. By some miracle, I completed the dance without any mess up and breathed a huge sigh of relief when we walked off the dance floor. I leaned against a large pillar when Demetri left to go get us drinks, well blood. I was watching the people dance and mingle when I suddenly felt like something was wrong.

"Hello," I jumped at the voice next to me and looked over to see a tall man with brown hair, wearing a tux. I pressed my lips together as my bad feeling increased, but not wanting to be rude; I put on a small smile.

"Hi." I replied and he stepped a little closer.

"You must be Chloe." He said and my whole body tensed. How did he know my name? There was a voice in the back of my head that kept screaming at me to get away from him. A deep thought kept telling me he was dangerous.

"E-Excuse me." I quickly said and dashed away before he could say anything. I hurried over to the other side of the ballroom and hid behind a row of pillars, thankful that I was the only one there. I pressed my shaking hands together, just now realizing I was trembling. Why was I so afraid of him? There was something about him that just made me feel so…scared. Images of my parent's dead bodies suddenly flashed in my head and I covered my eyes with my hands, trying to will the memory away. I couldn't stop shaking…

"Hay." A hand was placed on my shoulder and I jumped before flinching away at the sudden contact. My eyes locked with the red eyes of Alec and I watched as he moved his hand back to his side.

"What's wrong?" he asked. His tone was still dark and detached, but the softening of his red eyes told me he was there to help.

"I-I don't know." I whispered out, "t-there was a man." I looked behind my shoulder, afraid that he had followed me. "I don't know why I was so afraid…I've never met him…but…" I pressed my trembling hands to my chest, trying to calm down. Alec's hand was lightly placed on my shoulder and it was then I noticed how close he was.

"Take a deep breath." He said, but it kind of sounded like a command. But I did anyways, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. His scent filled my nose and I noticed he smelled like a forest.

"He gave me a really bad feeling." I whispered out after the breath. Alec's body stance shifted at my words. He seemed to go from relaxed, to alerted.

"Jane." The name left his lips quietly, but in the same second his twin sister was standing next to us. I watched as her eyes moved from me to Alec's hand that now rested on my arm, and then to her brother.

"Go get Aro." Alec said. Jane tilted her head a little, but she then vanished without a word. I let out another shaky breath, calming down enough to notice just how close Alec was to me. I would barely have to lean forward, and I could rest my head on his shoulder. I shifted a little out of instinct when people, mostly men, get this close to me. Alec's eyes locked with mine and something like understanding flashed over his eyes before he took a step away from me while moving his hand away as well.

"You've been hurt," he stated, "by a man." My shoulders stiffened at his words and I crossed my arms over my belly while looking at the ground.

"What is going on here?" Demetri's voice came from behind me and I looked over my shoulder in time to see him stop right behind me and give a small bow.

"Children you should be enjoying the ball." Aro's voice came then and I looked over Alec's shoulder to see Aro walking over to us with Jane close on his heels. Alec stepped to the side while his sister moved to stand next to him.

"She had a feeling again master." Alec said. His eyes once again cold and his voice completely detached again. I noticed Aro frown a little at Alec, almost like he didn't like how Alec acted before he focused on me.

"I-It was nothing." I said quietly and he walked closer to me.

"Ah but nothing can always turn into something my dear," he said softly and held out his hand. I slowly placed my hand in his and watched as his smile turned into a frown before he pulled away.

"I do no know that man," Aro said sounding a little angry, "we have an uninvited guest." At his words, Felix appeared then and I felt Demetri's hand on my shoulder.

"Go back to your room Chloe," he said softly, "and stay alert." My eyes locked with his for a second before I nodded and quickly walked out of the ballroom. I decided to go out through the garden because it was the quickest way back. I was halfway through the garden when my vision started to blur, and I had to catch myself on the nearest bench when my head started to become cloudy. It was then I felt a hand grab my arm and I started to struggle against the person.

"Let go!" I shouted as my vision stated to become clear again and I was being dragged towards the castle wall. Two men were dragging me away and it was then I started to panic as I struggled more.

"Let me go!" I screamed and moved away when one tried to cover my mouth.

"DEMETRI!" I screamed as loud as I could before a hand was placed over my mouth.

**(Demetri's POV)**

"The intruder seems to have left already." I stated as I stood on the castle wall close to the town with Alec, Jane, and Felix.

"I wonder if he is responsible for what's been going on recently." Felix muttered.

"If someone has been trying to get into the castle, coming during a ball would be a good time. Especially if they're after something." Alec stated and his sister looked at him.

"What would someone possible be after in the castle?" Jane asked, "they must have a death with to try and steal from us." I tilted my head at her words.

"Demetri!" A scream of my name echoed through the garden and my whole body tensed as I recognized the voice.

"What was that?" Felix asked, suddenly in alert.

"Chloe," I extend my gift to link to her essence to find she was moving away from the castle through the woods in the back.

"She's not alone." I growled in realization and quickly ran after her, hearing the others behind me. Jumping over the back wall and dashing into the woods, I could tell we were getting close. And then my eyes landed on her, struggling against two vampires as they tried pulled her away. One was holding he by the waist and the other was trying to restrain her ankles as she kicked at him.

"Jane." I yelled, catching their attention and in that second the one holding Chloe fell to the ground under Janes gift. Chloe fell with him while the other tried to run off, Felix stopped him in his tracks and pinned him to the ground. Chloe scrambled to her feet and rushed over to me. Her dress torn and dirty. My arms wrapped around her and I felt my whole body relax the second she was in my hold, trembling.

"I think we found what they were trying to steal." Alec said and my eyes narrowed at that writhing vampire on the ground.

"The three of you can handle taking them to the ancients, right?" I asked and my eyes locked with Alec whose eyes flashed to the trembling girl in my arms.

"Of course." He said casually with a hint of his wicked smirk. I nodded and picked Chloe up and ran back to the castle.

"What the Hell is going on?!" Caius's voice rang though the halls the second I entered the castle.

"Someone tried to kidnap her." I replied calmly.

"Chloe!" her friend from the lower guard tried to rush over to us, only to be stopped by Afton.

"Stay here Jamie," he said, "let him take care of her." Her worry filled eyes remained on Chloe whose face was buried in my chest. Jamie took a step back at Afton's words and it was then the others entered with the two vampires in their hold. Well in Felix's hold. Jane and Alec stay closely behind him in case the two tried to escape.

"You two," Caius turned his angry gaze to two lower guards, the two who were always with Chloe and both were looking at her in worry as well.

"Help take them down to the dungeons," Caius ordered, and they nodded before walking over to Felix and helping him drag them away, "the rest of you go patrol the city and the castle!" With that order out, the lingering guard quickly ran off. Aro and Marcus stood behind Caius, letting him take charge. Aro watched everything with his hands to his lips in thought while Marcus waited patiently next to him.

"Demetri," Aro finally spoke, "take her to your room. Help her calm down and stay there until you're summoned. Heidi go get the child a change of clothes. Alec, Jane go and check on the wives and inform their guards to increase security. I am not pleased with these current events." With that said, Aro turned on his heel and walked off into the direction of his office with his brothers on his heels.

The second I was in my room I noticed Heidi had already dropped off some sweats from Chloe's room along with a few of her stuffed animals she got at the mall. I set Chloe on the couch and noticed then how torn up her dress was. Her strapless bra stuck out from under a large tear. She put up a fight…

"Good job." I whispered as I placed my hand on her head and sat next to her.

"What?" Chole whispered, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion as she looked at me, her eyes still holding fear.

"Fighting them," I said, "good job fighting them. Had you not put up a fight, we may not have caught up to you." Chloe pressed her lips together and looked down at her hands.

"You actually came for me." She said in a tone that sounded like disbelief.

"I told you I always would," I replied, "I won't abandon you." Her tense shoulders dropped, and a sob escaped her lips. I pulled her onto my lap and let her bury her face in my shoulder and cry.

"Caius is furious," Felix said as he sat on my couch. Chole went to take a shower and it was in that moment my friend decided to appear to give me an update.

"Aro too," he continued, "Marcus is worried, and the lower guard are in a panic running all over the city. Naturally they're worried about her." His eyes flashed to the closed bathroom doors. We were speaking quietly so she couldn't hear, she has been through enough for one day.

"The prisoners?" I asked, turning away from watching the fire to look at my friend, "have they said anything?" Felix crossed his arms and shrugged.

"No," he said, "but it's not like we've questioned them yet." My fingers twitched while my hands rested behind my back, the urge to go kill them was creeping up on me and I had to focus very hard to keep myself in check.

"I should've seen the connection," I said, "both times I sensed an intruder, Chloe was close by as well."

"I don't think any of us would've made the connection." He replied and it was then we heard the shower turn off. Felix stood up then and walked to the door.

"I'll keep you posted if you're not summoned soon." He said quietly before leaving. Just as he shut the door, the bathroom door opened, and Chloe walked out in her sweats.

"How are you?" I asked and she looked up at me.

"Scared." She whispered and I walked up to her. I cupped her cheeks in my hands and made her look at me.

"I know," I said, "but I'm here now, so just rest now. You're safe in here." She moved forward then and buried her face in my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her.

"Thank you, Demetri." Her voice was muffled, but I still heard her. A small smile touched my lips as a rested my head against hers.


End file.
